FARMING06 | 2016 – 32.2

MATTERSFormerly known as LEISA Magazine Experiences in family farming and agroecology

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Farming_Matters_advertentie_CORR.indd 2 14-06-16 09:48 FARMERS IN FOCUS

Finger on the pulse of new local markets

y name is André Jurrius and I am an varieties of dry edible beans. Lupin is well adapted organic farmer. For the past decade I to our climate as it can handle a lot of moisture in the Mhave been farming in the Netherlands, a soil. However, with the other legumes, wet periods stones throw from the Rhine River, on the same during flowering and harvest, and the relatively alluvial soil upon which I was born. On my farm, cool summers are constraints to be overcome. Eko boerderij de Lingehof, we have 100 hectares The climate is changing so perhaps working with of arable land. Stable income from my main legumes will be an advantage in the future. cash – potatoes, onions, carrots, pumpkin, and clover – provides the space I need to Many consumers have little experience with experiment with new species of annual legumes. I different legume crops, making them expensive wanted to introduce legumes into my rotation to and risky for now. However, I am not alone in my improve soil fertility on the flood plain and also to pursuit of growing legumes and creating new participate in emerging local markets. Decreasing markets for these crops. I collaborate with people meat consumption in the near future will be met who are developing innovative ways of processing with more plant-based proteins and people want legumes and reaching consumers. For example, I locally-grown food. work with Jacqueline Castelijns who is developing different recipes and products with lupin. I I have always incorporated legumes into my double also work with other farmers and researchers cropping system, starting with grass and clover. In passionate about overcoming the challenges of 2008, I started growing lupins and have not looked growing more legumes in the Netherlands. back. Two years ago I started growing chickpeas and soybeans and this year I am intercropping with lentils Interview by Jesse Roberts, an intern at ILEIA. and . I’m also experimenting with heirloom Photo: Bert Beelen

Farming Matters | June 2016 | 3 CONTENTS

Making matter in Madhya Pradesh

Ashis Mondal, Israel Oliver King, Somnath Roy, Shambhavi Priyam, Gennifer Meldrum, 10 Stefano Padulosi, and Sharad Mishra “Real solutions are in the diversity of food and farming” Mariam Mayet 17 Interview by Diana Quiroz and Madeleine Florin Lupin regains ground in Central Ecuador Nelson Mazón, Eduardo Peralta, Elena Villacrés, 20 and Ángel Murillo Farmers’ firm grip on diversity 32 Leah Samberg

4 | Farming Matters | June 2016 CONTENTS

3 Farmers in focus: André Jurrius 36 Perspectives: Fair and sustainable expansion of traditional crops – lessons 6 Editorial: Traditional plants build resilience from and resistance Didier Bazile Madeleine Florin, Diana Quiroz and Janneke Bruil 40 Mind! New books on knowledge and agroecology 9 Opinion: Elizabeth Mpofu 42 Advocating for sustainable pastoralism 10 Making millets matter in Madhya Pradesh together Ashis Mondal, Israel Oliver King, Somnath RBG project team Roy, Shambhavi Priyam, Gennifer Meldrum, Stefano, Padulosi, and Sharad Mishra 44 FAO’s Regional meetings on agroecology: A reflection 14 Heritage : digging our roots, Janneke Bruil and Diana Quiroz planting our seeds Kristen Spruit 47 Call for articles 17 Interview: “Real solutions are in the diversity of food and farming” Mariam Mayet 20 Lupin regains ground in Central Ecuador Nelson Mazón, Eduardo Peralta, Elena Villacrés, and Ángel Murillo 24 Linking food choice with Jens Herbold 26 Locally rooted: Ideas and initiatives from the field 35 28 Planting roots with non-timber forest products Rick Burnette and Abram Bicksler 31 Opinion: Kylie Lingard 32 Farmers’ firm grip on diversity Leah Samberg 35 Youth and : Frederik van Oudenhoven Photo: Jamila Haider

4 | Farming Matters | June 2016 Farming Matters | June 2016 | 5 EDITORIAL > REVALUING TRADITIONAL PLANTS

Traditional plants build resilience& resistance This issue of Farming Matters looks at the growing number of initiatives worldwide that aim to harness the potential of traditional plants. Cultivating traditional plants builds resilience and nutrition, strengthens cultural practices and enhances food sovereignty. From the experiences presented here we learn that for the successful revival of traditional plants, farmers’ knowledge on agricultural biodiversity, nutri- tion and culture must also be valued and protected. And this works best through a holistic approach – from field to fork to politics. Madeleine Florin, Diana Quiroz and Janneke Bruil

nderutilised, orphan, forgotten, Traditional plants are a central element in the agroe- minor, neglected, indigenous, cological transition. Photo: Ndabezinhle Nyoni traditional plant species. These are but a few of the names for the plant species that are ignored in main- stream policy and research. Out of U7000 plant species that have been used for human food consumption since the beginning of agriculture, just three crops (, and wheat) provide 60 % of the world’s plant-based calories and proteins today (FAO). Going against the , farmers and others around the world are embarking on initiatives that revalue the nutritional, ecological and cultural values of plants which, from here on will be referred to as ‘traditional’. This issue of Farming Matters presents a kaleidoscope of such experiences. Why are so few plant species valued? In colonial times, traditional plants and foods were often associated with notions of ‘primitive’, and left to marginalised sectors of society. A second wave of undervaluation came from the 1960s onwards with the Green Revolution. A food and farming system based on intensifying the cultivation of only a few crops – rice, wheat and maize, bred for routine application of fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation – was promoted. Diversity in traditional crops, farming techniques and diets was replaced with and monotony. Today the marginalisation of the majority of plant species in science, policy, education, development, pro-

6 | Farming Matters | June 2016 EDITORIAL > REVALUING TRADITIONAL PLANTS

duction and consumption is evident. For instance, most Importantly, a range of traditional crops such as research, food aid and public procurement programmes are more nutritious than the major crops such as focus exclusively on the dominant crops, creating situa- maize. Finally, the cultivation, preparation and con- tions where farmers are convinced or coerced into culti- sumption of traditional plants is a way of reinforcing vating them. In turn, and often via global food chains, cultural identity and is an important survival strategy where power is concentrated in the hands of just a few amongst migrant communities (page 28) and those retailers who invest heavily in marketing campaigns, building peace in the aftermath of war (page 35). these are the crops that end up on the plates of consum- For all these reasons farmers worldwide actively ers. And so we are witnessing the loss of the knowledge manage and maintain their diverse traditional plants and cultural heritage associated with cultivating, pro- and crops, and both rural and urban citizens are dis- cessing and preparing many plant species. covering and appreciating their uses. Likewise, scien- tists are seeking alternatives to the green revolution Traditional plants and agroecol- technology package and are revaluing traditional ogy So what makes people revalue traditional crops? species, while policy makers such as governments and For one, because of the great richness and diversity that the FAO are recognising the value of such species for can be found among the plant species that do not food and nutrition security. dominate the global food system, but do provide at least But revaluing traditional crops is not easy, as it re- a quarter of the world’s plant-based food. And due to quires vision, creativity and stamina to go against the their many positive contributions, these plants are a mainstream. Moreover, traditional crops also have central element in the agroecological transition. their disadvantages. For instance, millets take a longer Diversification is a major motivation for a return to time to cook than rice and post-harvest processing of traditional crops. The negative consequences of inten- lupin is water and labour intensive. The processes of sive use of (often expensive) external inputs such as production and preparation of some ‘forgotten’ crops pesticides and fertilizers provide an incentive for also have been forgotten, while ‘modern tastes’ often growing a variety of different species to manage pests, favour so called ‘modern foods’, usually containing diseases and soil fertility. Traditional crops are a key wheat, rice or maize. And not everybody is able to component of such diversification strategies. In the make the transition. Some Indian farmers, who have absence of external inputs, traditional varieties often been monocropping groundnuts since the 70s, are outperform improved varieties and with climate facing big problems because of climate change. Some change, traditional drought-resistant crops, sometimes have quit groundnut cultivation and returned to mil- improved through careful farmer selection, offer resil- let-based diverse systems, whereas others quit farming ience and stability. Moreover, this strategy supports altogether, and others decided to quit life as they farmers’ autonomy as they can circumvent the indus- could not stand the idea of lifelong indebtedness to trial seed and chemical industries. the bank.

Underutilised by whom?

The trend to revalue traditional crops merits a word problems. A few decades ago quinoa was of caution. Does the hyperdominance of a few crops considered the ‘lost of the Incas’. Recent mean that the rest are truly undervalued? For example, campaigns that promoted its integration into the pulse crop lupin is undergoing a worldwide global value chains have been successful in revival, but for small scale farmers in the highlands popularising the crop. But dramatic changes in of Ecuador, this crop has always been an essential quinoa producing regions raise questions about part of their diets. The label ‘underutilised’ should be the impact of bringing traditional crops into global regarded in its geographical, social, historical, and food systems. As Didier Bazile points out on page economic context. Recognising this and questioning 36, these changes can negatively impact crop the narrative of ‘underutilised plant species’ is a way diversity, soil conservation, community cohesion of challenging the politics of oblivion, as argued by and local food and nutrition security. Similarly, Mariam Mayet on pages 17-19. the commercial promotion of traditional non- timber forest products can be dangerous when Moreover, the promotion of traditional plant governance mechanisms, such as land tenure, are species might actually accelerate or create not in place to curb exploitation of the species.

6 | Farming Matters | June 2016 Farming Matters | June 2016 | 7 A holistic approach is needed As neglect of traditional crops has occurred at several levels, within seed systems, on farmers’ fields, along market chains, on people’s plates and in research, education and policy, a holistic approach is needed to turn the tide. Initiatives that build alliances between actors at these different levels are particularly success- ful as they enable coordinated efforts to make funda- mental changes to the whole food system. For instance, recognising the link between traditional crops and foods calls for collaborations between farmers and people who process, prepare, package, distribute and eat food. In Canada, new links between farmers and chefs have increased awareness and popularity of heritage grains (page 14). Likewise food festivals in India and Ethiopia that celebrate food cultures, garner citizen support for traditional foods in both urban and rural areas. Furthermore, as illustrated with an example from Germany on page 24, there are increasing numbers of citizen-led initiatives that strengthen their relationships with farmers around traditional crops. Support for emerging initiatives to revalue tradi- tional plants must also come from policy. For in- stance through national research programmes that value farmers’ knowledge on these crops and through public procurement programmes that source tradi- tional foods from family farmers. Changes to the Promoting traditional plants goes hand in hand with Public Distribution System in India, to include minor respecting food producers’ knowledge. (see article millets next to rice, wheat and maize, are a good on page 32) Photo: Leah Samberg example of how traditional crops can be supported (page 10). On page 17 Mariam Mayet argues for policy change that supports farmer-managed seed Farmers’ knowledge As the value of systems and likewise Didier Bazile explains that traditional plants gains greater recognition, so must the changes to international seed regulations is needed to knowledge, culture and expertise on growing and promote farmers’ access to diverse and high quality preparing these. This knowledge can take many forms. seeds (page 36). For example, in the Gamo Highlands of Ethiopia (page 32), farmers use song, dance and food to hand Resilience and resistance This issue over knowledge about their crops. Hence, promoting of Farming Matters shows that traditional plant species traditional plants must go hand in hand with respect- are part and parcel of family farming rooted in ing the custodians of this knowledge – the food agroecology, and that there are many ways to revalue producers themselves. Kylie Lingard (page 31) points them. It is clear that this always goes together with the this out with the case of an expanding indigenous revival of traditional dishes, food cultures, and with ‘bush foods’ industry in Australia which does not yet greater diversity. It is imperative that markets be fairly acknowledge the indigenous peoples. created specifically for traditional plants and foods that Moreover, exchange between farmers and with others are produced in an agroecological way by family is a way to generate old and new knowledge about these farmers. This can lead to more diverse, nutritious food foods. This is seen in India (page 10), where farmers and healthier people that feel more connected to their participate in exchanges across the country to share food. Traditional crops build resilience and resistance their experiences with reviving minor millets. An initia- – for farmers, and for anyone who eats. tive to revitalise lupin in Ecuador owes part of its success to the equal partnership between technicians Madeleine Florin ([email protected]), Diana Quiroz and farmers (page 20). The protection of farmers’ ([email protected]) and Janneke Bruil ([email protected]) knowledge and their farming models remains a key work at ILEIA (www.ileia.org). point of attention, as learnt from the quinoa experience.

8 | Farming Matters | June 2016 OPINION

n the whole of Africa and especially in my country, Zimbabwe, our elders cultivated crops not just for the Isake of growing food but also for many other purposes, including for health, their relationship with nature, and their cultural and spiritual practices that are important to identity and belonging. Moreover, after many decades of unsuccessful experience with the green revolution, we have seen that traditional crops are easier to grow. Thus, Elizabeth Mpofu ([email protected]) is the General Coordinator of La Via Campesina and the where l come from, many smallholder farmers are now chairperson of the Zimbabwe Organic Smallholder abandoning hybrid crops grown with a lot of fertilizers and Farmers Forum (ZIMSOFF). She is Farming Matters’ other chemicals, and are replacing them with a wide variety regular columnist for 2016. of traditional ones.

In the cities of Zimbabwe, l have witnessed an increasing demand for foods based on traditional crops. Medical practitioners are recommending such foods to their patients suffering from various ailments. Herbal pharmacies and food outlets that serve organic dishes based on traditional crops are now common and popular among urban dwellers. The link between traditional crops and local culture is direct. Some crops have meaningful local names related to our culture, some of which reflect their relation with women. For example, some traditional maize varieties are called mbuya usafe, meaning grandmother do not die; and mukadzi usaende, meaning my wife do not run away. Small grains such as rapoko (finger millet) and mapfunde () and mhunga (pearl millet) are used in traditional ceremonies. And pulses such as cowpeas and beans have always been present on our farms, enriching our diets and also the soils. They are easily intercropped, and you can dry the leaves and have vegetables all year round.

To keep cultural eating habits and practices alive, as women, we play a big role. We are well aware of different crops Traditional and varieties, and their importance to the health of the family. Preserving seeds and the various ways of processing them are also women’s roles. l take advantage of the many meetings and conferences l attend to talk about the crops keep importance of these traditional crops and their relation with women. My own experiences with these traditional crops while growing up in a community and family has given me our culture strength to speak out and I encourage other women to raise their voices as well.

Our messages are clear: we want our governments to alive protect our traditional crops and not to introduce costly new varieties which require agrochemicals which damage nature and our health. We cannot let our culture die. We need resources to raise awareness of the benefits of traditional crops, particularly among the new generation that is being seduced by unhealthy food.

Farming Matters | June 2016 | 9 REVALUING TRADITIONAL PLANTS > HOLISTIC VALUE CHAINS

Making millets matter in Madhya Pradesh

Photo: Oliver King10 | Farming Matters | June 2016 REVALUING TRADITIONAL PLANTS > HOLISTIC VALUE CHAINS A decline in minor millet cultivation rings true across much of India. Yet a country wide revival of this crop is in motion. Farmers are again recognising and asserting the value of minor millets, a cereal crop that was once central to their culture. A group of farmers in Madhya Pradesh have taken strength from farmers in Tamil Nadu who have successfully brought millet back into their fields, their homes and onto plates across their region. This is a story of how learning exchanges and partnerships support amplification of succcessful initiatives. Ashis Mondal, Israel Oliver King, Somnath Roy, Shambhavi Priyam, Gennifer Meldrum, Stefano Padulosi, and Sharad Mishra

illet cultivation started to fall out maize. In the monsoon season, paddy is grown in the of favour in India during the lowest elevations where moisture is greatest, maize is green revolution when input cultivated on gentle slopes, while kodo (Paspalum intensive farming systems scrobiculatum) and kutki millets (Panicum sumatrense) dominated by wheat, rice and are grown only in the steepest and highest areas. maize were systematically But, Gond and Baiga farmers recognise that their Mpromoted. During the past decades, the public traditional millets are more reliable under increasingly distribution system, a scheme where the Indian drought-prone conditions. “Our crops depend on government provides rice and wheat at subsidised rates whatever falls from the sky. Paddy requires more water to low income households, has further discouraged the but kutki will grow even in the absence of heavy rain- use of millets. But, from the ground up, farmers, fall,” said a farmer from Mandla district. In 2015, NGOs and scientists have started a millet revival that eastern Madhya Pradesh received just 30 % of the has even reached national policy. Several farming usual amount of rainfall which led to crop failures and communities have succeeded in reviving their lost serious rural distress. The steady progression of climate tradition of cultivating millets and two years ago millet change means that cultivating climate-hardy millet is was added to the public distribution system. A an ever more important strategy. relatively new experience amongst the indigenous Gond and Baiga farmers in Mandla and Dindori Constraints Despite their benefits, low districts in Madhya Pradesh gives insight into how the productivity, weak market opportunity, difficult process- millet revival is unfolding across India. ing, and low consumer interest are constraints to continue millet cultivation. These constraints for millet Climate resilience Traditionally minor use are not unique to Madhya Pradesh however, and millets were the major staple for farmers in Mandla they can be overcome. In Kolli Hills, Tamil Nadu, 15 and Dindori districts. They were cultivated and years of collaboration between farmers, the M.S. consumed in abundance – central to the rain fed Swaminathan Foundation and Bioversity International farming systems, an important source of sustenance, has resulted in a so called ‘holistic value chain approach’ and featuring in traditional songs. These cereals can which addresses issues of production, processing and produce a reliable harvest under the harsh conditions consumption at the same time. Action for Social of this region that is characterised by rocky, thin topsoil Advancement (ASA), an NGO based in Central India, and limited irrigation facilities. Since the 1970s, millet with a longstanding relationship with farmers in Mandla cultivation has been pushed into ever more marginal and Dindori districts, is applying this holistic approach in areas to make way for rice and maize. Paddy was once Madhya Pradesh to address challenges for millet use as grown in more limited quantities and was considered a part of a global initiative to promote climate hardy and delicacy. Now, farmers in this region tend to focus their nutritious underutilised species. The initiative is effort on wage labor and cultivation of paddy and supported by the International Fund for Agricultural

10 | Farming Matters | June 2016 Farming Matters | June 2016 | 11 Development, the European Union and the CGIAR Their success with collective processing, value-adding Research Programme on Climate Change Agriculture and marketing have proven that millets can play an im- and . portant role in rural livelihoods again. Mechanised mills have reduced the drudgery of processing millet grains. Success in Kolli Hills In Kolli Hills from Women used to spend up to an hour manually process- 2014-2016, an estimated 56 tonnes of millet was ing one kilogram of grain and now it takes just five produced by 759 local farm families across 45 minutes. Food fairs, innovative recipes and successful settlements. It was used for home consumption, stored marketing of value-added millet products have increased as seed, or sold. The backbone of Kolli Hill’s success is the amount of millet consumed across the region. And, the Agrobiodiversity Conservers’ Federation (KHAB- the 15 farmer-run seed banks containing 21 landraces CoFED), a registered society involved in managing from five millet species are enabling farmers to conserve minor millets from the farm to fork. The current local seeds and nurture their seed exchange practices. membership stands at 1,511 members from 47 self-help groups and 62 farmers’ clubs that specialise A lesson in collective organisa- in different roles – from production, processing, tion The way farmers in Kolli Hills are organised has value-adding to distribution. The initiative was built proven very successful. ASA is taking steps to support over time; it started in 1997 with 10 self-help groups farmers in Mandla and Dindori districts in a similar way. and was institutionalised in 2009. In 2011, ASA supported the formation of more than 200 self-help groups amongst farmers in about 50 villages. Members from these groups formed the basis of three farmer producer companies that were established in 2013 and 2014. The farmer producer companies have An approach which storefronts, warehouse facilities and infrastructure needed to process and distribute the grain. All profits are addresses production, distributed equitably among the farmers who collectively processing, and own the company, the majority of whom are women. A success to date has been that, through the produc- consumption at the tion companies, farmers are receiving a better price for their grain. The companies carry out primary cleaning, same time grading and colour sorting and as a result farmers share

Locally adapted minor millets

Owing to their nutritional value, hardiness sub-Saharan Africa and India. Their and cultural relevance, minor millets are short growing season makes them well all but minor. The green revolution put suited to rainfed farming conditions. them aside but today their rediscovery Compared to rice and wheat, they is opening up huge opportunities for require relatively few inputs. Millets unleashing their benefits. Traditionally offer a wide variety of flavours, excellent considered as a separate group from taste, crispy or fluffy textures that the other ‘major’ millets (sorghum can make our food experience both and pearl millet), minor millets in India healthier and more attractive. They are include six species: foxtail millet (Setaria nutritionally superior to wheat and rice in italica), finger millet (), many aspects. For instance, finger millet proso millet (Panicum miliaceum), kodo has the highest calcium content among millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum), little or all cereals. Their starch composition and kutki millet (Panicum sumatrense) and low glycemic index (which make them barnyard millet (Echinochloa colona). ideal for diabetic patients) are also These crops play an important role accompanied by gluten free status of in food and farming systems in both the flour.

Photo: Shambhavi Priyam

12 | Farming Matters | June 2016 “These people are our people”

lages that the farmers saw in Kolli Hills, could be strate- gic in increasing the use of millets in Madhya Pradesh. This would be particularly beneficial for women who traditionally spend hours grinding and separating stones from the small grains. All of the farmers were enthused to take their knowledge back to their villages and share it with the members of their self-help groups.

Millet on the menu Another lesson from Kolli Hills is that awareness campaigns amongst rural Storefront of the Mandla Tribal Farmer Producer and urban populations are key to getting these climate Company selling high quality millet seed to local hardy crops back on their plates. ASA has organised a farmers. Photo: Gennifer Meldrum number of millet festivals in the district centres that provide a platform for producers to showcase their millet. Prizes for ‘the tastiest dish’ and ‘the most popular stall’ in the value-added price. On top of this, aggregation of and the presence of government officials has proven a grain enables bulk sale to reduce the number of mid- successful way of boosting self-esteem amongst producers dlemen between the farmers and consumers. The com- and revalidating this traditional crop and food. panies are also working to make available high quality The path towards a full millet revival in Mandla and kodo, kutki and finger millet seeds. This has involved Dindori districts continues and increasing demand for the participatory variety selection with several farmers spe- crop is an important priority. Staff from ASA recently cialising in seed production. Looking further afield, the visited three local primary schools to discuss climate farmer producer companies have joined a consortium change and the role of climate resilient crops such as made up of 51 farmer producer companies from across millet for adaptation. At the same time the self-help the state to facilitate larger scale transactions. groups are negotiating with these schools to provide lunches and, without a doubt, millet will be on the menu. Farmer to farmer knowledge exchange Since seeing is believing, farmers Ashis Mondal , Somnath Roy, Shambhavi Priyam and from Madhya Pradesh and Kolli Hills have been Sharad Mishra work for Action for Social Advancement involved in a number of knowledge and cultural ([email protected]). Israel Oliver King works for M. S. exchanges. Last year farmers from Kolli Hills visited Swaminathan Foundation. Gennifer Meldrum Mandla to share recipes and methods for preparing ([email protected]) and Stefano Padulosi work for millets. This was such a success that when community Bioversity International. members from Mandla participated in the Indigenous Terra Madre event in northeast India they prepared a kodo ladoo, a traditional sweet recipe, that they learnt from the Kolli Hills farmers. In January 2016 seven- teen custodian farmers from Mandla and Dindori The custodians of the community and visited Kolli Hills, where they saw community seed millet pulveriser in Kolli Hills mingle with women banks, village-based mills, and the storefront where from Mandla and Dindori. Photo: Shambhavi Priyam packaged final products are sold and distributed. They also had the opportunity to taste several millet dishes. These exchanges are beneficial from both a learning point of view and for the unique experience of meeting people who share similar lifestyles, challenges and aspi- rations. “These people are our people,” said Khantibai, a female farmer from Mandla district. The visiting farmers were excited to find similarities between their native language, Gondi, and Tamil. Moreover, the cot- tage-scale machinery for millet processing in the vil-

12 | Farming Matters | June 2016 Farming Matters | June 2016 | 13 Photo: Susan Sloane

00_RUBRIEK > XXXXX

Heritage grains: digging our roots, planting our seeds

Two years ago Shelley and Tony Spruit started Against the Grain, an initiative that is reviving heritage grains in Ontario, Canada, from field to fork. Their experience demonstrates how family farmers build seed sovereignty and educate consumers on their power to make change. In this article, their daughter Kristen writes their story. She explains how Shelley and Tony overcame various challenges on the farm and are forging innovative relationships to create new markets and enhance food sovereignty for farmers and consumers alike. Kristen Spruit

14 | Farming Matters | June 2016 00_RUBRIEK > XXXXX REVALUING TRADITIONAL PLANTS > SEED SOVEREIGNTY

s farmers we have been entrusted Canadian farmers has resulted in locally-adapted with the seed for thousands of years. heritage varieties. For instance, beta-glucan , If we – the small farmers – do not which Tony and Shelley grow and sell, directly from the continue to grow diverse, unique farm and, online. This variety was researched and crops that are open pollinated and developed specifically for the Canadian food market. adaptable to the climate, we lose The rarity of these grains created practical challenges, “controlA of our food source,” said my mum Shelley, from difficulties to source enough seeds to acquiring suit- expanding on the importance of seed sovereignty, not able equipment to harvest, thrash, clean and store the only for Canadian food sovereignty, but also for grains. On top of this, finding other farmers who’ve farmers and consumers. grown these crops and can share information on the My parents, Shelley and Tony, have been farming for history and provide tips and tricks of the trade has been more than 28 years. They own and operate 97 hectares difficult. Overcoming these challenges has been a lesson not far from Ottawa. Two years ago, in 2014, they decided in persistence. Each year Shelley and Tony learn more to use about 16 hectares of their land to grow heritage about the grains’ growing characteristics – planting time, grains for local markets. These are old varieties or species row spacing, favoured soil type, resistance to wind and of grains that have not been hybridised or genetically fungus and time to maturity. For instance, last spring it modified to fit mainstream farming practices and have, as became evident that a number of these older varieties a result, been largely forgotten or neglected. This is im- needed an additional step in the cleaning process to portant in a country where the diversity of grains has been remove the hard outer shell of the grain and the long dwindled down to almost nothing with the majority of bracts. While it was not easy to find them, they have also farmers growing only a few varieties of maize, wheat and been able to connect with other farmers who have, for barley. Developing new and alternative production instance, helped them with the equipment needed for models and markets is therefore at the heart of Shelley harvest. Shelley and Tony are members of the Ontario and Tony’s efforts to revive heritage grains. Ecological Farmers Association. The organisation helps to connect farmers across Ontario looking to grow alter- Growing Against the Grain They native grains, create seed banks and who are interested in aptly named their new venture ‘Against the Grain’ and small farm ownership. The membership has enabled started experimenting with a range of wheat and barley them to connect with other like minded farmers along varieties – Purple Ethiopian Barley, Scottish Bere the way. Barley, Tibetan Barley, Blue Utrecht Wheat, , Black Wheat, Brazilian Laurus Wheat, New partnerships, new markets Kamut and White Sonoma Wheat– amongst others. Beyond the farm gate, the challenge of this adventure Although wheat and barley were not domesticated in continues as markets still need to be created for non- Canada, generations of selection and breeding by GMO, open pollinated and non-patented seeds in

Heritage grains

‘Heritage’ and ‘ancient’ are often crops are bred for uniformity and used interchangeably. Heritage performance under routine use of grains are an alternative to so called synthetic inputs. Heritage grains mass-market grains and are seen as are also becoming more popular a part of the resistance against the amongst consumers where their consolidated seed industry. Three superior nutritional properties are quarters of the worlds’ seed market recognised and marketed. For is controlled by ten companies who example, purple corn has between concentrate on only a few crops and 15 and 20 % more of the eight varieties. For example, in Canada, essential amino acids found in 95 % of seeds used to grow major yellow corn.

Photo: Susan Sloane

14 | Farming Matters | June 2016 Farming Matters | June 2016 | 15 grains is proof that there’s power to create change within There is increasing the food and agriculture system,” said Shelley. A chal- lenge in this arena has been to meet all the regulations awareness amongst chefs for the processing of the grains, such as getting approval and consumers about and meeting food processing and health standards for the the importance of how millers that Against the Grain works with. Keeping seed diversity alive grains are grown Shelley continues to work with new partners to build and broaden the movement to keep the seed genetic diversity alive in Canada. Against the Grain is working with scientists from the University of Manitoba to trial different varieties of grains to determine the suitability and productivity of these grains in various Canadian climates. Currently, three varieties of hulless – which are crosses of different heritage grains – are being tested. Wanting to maintain and expand seed diversity, Against the Grain donates their heritage seeds to or- ganisations such as Seeds of Diversity and USC Canada, who have created seed banks with more than a thousand rare Canadian-adapted seed varieties. This project is organised through the Canadian Bauta Ini- tiative, which works with various organisations to pre- serve rare varieties of seeds for future generations. And this spring, Shelley and Tony initiated a ’Grow a Row’ project on their farm – a community initiative where gardeners and farmers share their excess produce with local soup kitchens and food banks. As part of this effort, high school students will be growing heirloom tomatoes on Shelley and Tony’s farm and donate the produce to a local food bank. While it’s never easy to take a different course than society dictates, Shelley has always been a believer in Shelley and Tony. Photo: Susan Sloane the notion that small steps can have big impacts: “We have the power to create change, one seed at a time.”

Canada. This is where the connection between seeds Kristen Spruit ([email protected]) is a communica- and food comes in, and the role of building relationships tions student and journalism graduate. Her passion for between farmers and consumers. Shelley has invested in travel has taken her to more than 40 countries around the creating new partnerships with bakers, artisans, chefs and world, providing inspiration for her second passion: writing. businesses across southern Ontario. As a result, several For more information visit www.againstthegrainfarms.ca chefs and bakers in the Ottawa area now use Against the Grain products. For instance, one chef is substituting imported rice with Against the Grain barley berries. And a bakery in Ottawa sells various pastries and pies made with their barley flour and purple corn meal. Moreover, Against the Grain is currently working together with an enterprise that supplies food to 1200 schools to develop a healthy cookie made from barley flour. There is increasing awareness amongst chefs and con- sumers about the importance of how grains are grown, and the correlation between non-GMO products and health. The response from customers has been over- whelming, particularly when consumers understand the health benefits of whole grains. “Seeing people interested Students planting onions on Shelley and Tony’s farm and wanting to know more about heritage and Canadian for the ‘Grow a row’ project. Photo: Kristen Spruit

16 | Farming Matters | June 2016 INTERVIEW > MARIAM MAYET

“Real solutions are in the diversity Photo: Alex Garland of food and farming” Mariam Mayet is the director of the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB). In a recent report, ACB turns their attention towards genetic modification of non-commercial ‘orphan crops’ and the way this technology is replacing farmer-managed food systems. In this interview Mariam explains what is wrong with genetic modification of these crops and where the real solutions lie. Interview: Diana Quiroz and Madeleine Florin

Farming Matters | June 2016 | 17 more we are humbled and we go back to the drawing GM crops simply board to rethink our strategy and way forward. cannot address multiple What is your concern with ge- nutritional challenges netic modification of these crops? First, we are very critical of genetically modified (GM) crops in Africa and have been opposing GM in Africa for almost 20 years. We are What is meant by non-commercial fundamentally opposed to reductionist solutions ‘orphan crops’? Traditional crops such as imposed upon Africa by powerful external forces that cowpea, sorghum, millet, pigeon pea, cassava and sweet are based on replacing existing farmer-managed food potato are referred to as non-commercial ‘orphan crops’, and farming systems with a model that is ecologically as part of a particular narrative that values crops that are unsustainable and inherently socially unjust. produced commercially and traded on international Claims that GM addresses vitamin and nutrient defi- markets, while everything else, like traditional or indig- ciencies through biofortification is turning the attention enous crops, are considered ‘orphan’. But on the ground, and resources of politicians and researchers towards these crops form the basis of our food and farming systems. new technologies such as gene editing and gene silenc- The value of these crops is not recognised. They’ve been ing. There has been a spate of articles and discussion neglected in regional, national and international policy, around this, yet very little attention goes to the biosafety and in research and development spaces. risks nor the past failures associated with GM crops. It is But we do not agree with the use of the term ‘orphan surprising that biofortification receives so much atten- crops’. In the same way that we changed the discourse tion when GM crops simply cannot address multiple around ‘informal seed systems’ to ‘farmer-managed seed nutritional challenges arising from, amongst others, systems’ we have to question whether crops are really environmental degradation and lack of access to public orphan or underutilised. Terms like ‘orphan crops’ are health and sanitation. Our main objection is that this derogatory and I regret that we used it in our recent diverts resources and the policy making trajectory away report, but it’s out there now and it’s a learning curve for from real solutions which can be found in the diversity us. The more we work with farmers on the ground the of food and farming.

New report: For your own good The chicanery behind non-commercial ‘orphan crops’ and rice for Africa

The African Centre for Biodiversity released this Moreover GM crops threaten genetic diversity report in April 2016 outlining the GMO industry’s that exists amongst traditional plant varieties. The expansion across Africa. The report focuses on report concludes that “the GM industry appears non-commercial crops – cassava, sorghum, sweet to be expanding its grasp over traditional subsist- potato, pigeon pea and millet, as well as rice – ence crops. [...] By focusing research on traits that revealing that a great deal of research and de- are meant to ‘benefit’ velopment is currently underway into the genetic farmers and malnour- modification of these crops. Most of the ongoing ished populations, trials are focused on drought and salt tolerance, the industry is bent nitrogen use efficiency, resistance to tropical pests on winning the hearts and diseases and nutritional enhancement (biofor- and minds of Africans tification). The key countries that have been tar- regarding genetically geted include Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ghana, Nige- modified crops.” ria, Kenya, Uganda and Malawi. This work comple- The current wave of GM research is not enabling ments work already smallholders in Africa to choose their means of produced on GM ba- production and survival and is shifting control over nana (Schnurr, 2014) the future of farming in Africa from farmers to those and GM cowpea who will benefit from profits to be made from GM. (ACB, 2015).

18 | Farming Matters | June 2016 ACB’s Malawian research team. Photo: Enock Chikale

In some parts of Southern Africa, and in the USA, are sub standard or of poor quality. Within these seeds, Canada and Latin America, farmers can’t even imagine you may have drought resistant or nutritional properties agriculture without GM. At the same time, smallholder and characteristics with cultural importance. farmers in Africa produce 80 % of our food largely based on their own seed systems. So in our recent report What steps can be taken to- (see box), we look at what the GM industry is doing wards these solutions? We are with farmers’ traditional seeds and crops, and where pushing for big policy change towards recognition and public research funding is going. Now at least groups protection of these systems and supporting local have, in one document, an outline of who are the com- campaigns. For us information is key and ACB tries to panies donating technology, which traits in crops are put current information and knowledge in the public being researched, which crops are being targeted, and domain, complemented by other activities and events. how much money is going into these projects. The Earlier this year we organised a course where we brought report reveals that there are whole host of agendas at together activists from across Africa and spoke at length play. For instance much of the research is on new GM about GM of non-commercial, indigenous crops. traits and is in the stage of either greenhouse contain- I think the revaluation of traditional crops will increas- ment or confined field trials. The prospects of commer- ingly become part of the resistance campaigns against cialisation are unclear as approval of new traits takes a GM. There is a conference coming up in Nigeria where long time and depends on the evolution of biosafety church groups will discuss the rise of GM cowpea. regulations and new or existing moratoriums. It is not Nigeria is the world’s largest producer of cowpea and field clear when, or whether or not, any of these GM crops trials with Bt cowpea are in quite an advanced stage so we will reach the commercialisation stage. expect a lot of resistance there. Our previous report on But in general, we are very concerned about the cowpea was translated into French and is being used by GM industry and multinational companies further our friends in Burkina Faso, where there is a growing re- prying open Africa’s food and farming system through sistance to GM from the grassroots, for example through its expansion into non-commercial crops, while there an event to coincide with the international march against is clearly an opportunity for governments and a host of Monsanto in May 2016. When our colleagues in Africa actors to embrace an alternative transformation integrate information from our reports into their local agenda based on agroecology. campaigns that way, it’s a big victory for us. Can you elaborate some of these real solutions? It is important to There is clearly support the right of farmers to choose their means of production and survival. And this means starting with an opportunity to where farmers are and emboldening and strengthening embrace an alternative their systems. Moreover, the protection of farmer­ managed seed systems is needed. In these systems you transformation agenda find diversity and resilience. We need to shift away from the idea that seeds within farmer-managed seed systems based on agroecology

18 | Farming Matters | June 2016 Farming Matters | June 2016 | 19 REVALUING TRADITIONAL PLANTS > FARMER LEADERSHIP

Photo: Nelson Mazón

Lupin regains ground in Central Ecuador

2020 | | FarmingFarming MattersMatters | |June June 2010 2016 REVALUING TRADITIONAL PLANTS > FARMER LEADERSHIP This story shows the power of farmers’ leadership and self-organisation to revitalise neglected crops. A successful partnership between farmers and socially committed researchers, provided the scaffolding farmers needed to take matters into their own hands. A group of farmers set up a producers’ corporation to tackle the constraints to lupin production collectively. Amongst other achievements, thanks to an innovative participatory quality assurance system, they are now recognised as important local seed producers in Ecuador. Nelson Mazón, Eduardo Peralta, Elena Villacrés, and Ángel Murillo

he Andean Region is one of the world’s Andean Legumes and Grains (PRONALEG-GA). A year centres of plant domestication. Globally later, extensionists and several farmer leaders joined important crops such as quinoa forces to set up four farmer field schools in four commu- (Chenopodium quinoa), nities interested in revitalising their lupin production. (Amaranthus spp.) and lupin (Lupinus The research team from PRONALEG-GA provided mutabilis) were domesticated there. technical and material support for this initiative. TBefore the Spanish conquest, these and many other crops played an important role in the diets of high- Andean populations. However, during the colonial and republican periods, the consumption of tradition- The field schools led to al crops was discouraged to the point that they disappeared from many agricultural systems. an unexpected outcome In the case of lupin, its bitter flavour further contribut- ed to its exclusion from diets, placing it at a disadvantage against the foreign pulses that had been introduced by the Spaniards. Although farmers have traditionally pro- In the field schools, lupin seeds from various varie- cessed lupin in order to make its taste less pungent, pro- ties and origin were compared under different plant- cessing requires intensive use of water. Furthermore, ing densities. Farmer leaders and technicians facili- lupin productivity is low in Ecuador due to factors such tated training on seed quality, pest management and as cultivation in marginal areas, minimal public and using machinery for threshing. Besides taking lessons private investment, and lack of rural succession strategies. from the field schools back to their farms, the experi- These factors have resulted in the further neglect of this ence led to an unexpected outcome. The participants and other Andean traditional crops, which make up for a saw the potential value of working together to obtain considerable part of the region’s basic food basket. A support from governmental and development organi- group of farmers have taken steps to reverse this situation. sations and decided to form a producers’ corporation.

Taking matters into their own Working together 62 farmers from the hands In 2008, a farmer leader of Guamote Canton four communities set up the Corporation of Producers (central Ecuador) visited a field office of the National of Andean Legumes and Grains of the Puruwa Institute of Agricultural Research (INIAP) near Quito to Chimborazo Village (CORPOPURUWA), which was ask for information to improve their lupin production legally recognised by the Ministry of Agriculture in and the de-bittering process. The farmer’s request was July 2010. All of the members, one quarter of whom most welcome as it coincided with the institute’s interest are women, have equal rights to decision making and to expand the activities of their National Programme of sharing in the profits. The corporation is governed by

20 | Farming Matters | June 2016 Farming Matters | June 2016 | 21 Farmers meet amongst flowering lupin in Mushuk Pacari, Guamote. Photo: Nelson Mazón a members’ assembly, a board and an ethics commit- the farmers’ access to greater institutional support for tee that ensures the achievement of the corporation’s their initiatives. They nowadays receive training and social objectives, such as improving household financial resources from the Ministry of Agriculture, income. With this new way of organising, the revalu- the provincial government, and FAO. ing of lupin took on a new lease of life. Accessing good quality lupin seed emerged as a key Seed specialists The seed banks, supplied constraint to further cultivation of the crop and so they by the farmers specialising in seed production, set out to include seed production as one of their main complement existing farmer-managed seed systems. activities. For seed production, they are focusing on a So far, the seed banks serve as local reserves of good variety of lupin, INIAP 450 Andino (Andean variety), quality seeds. A limitation is that the seed banks only developed in the region with germplasm from Peru. It is house a few varieties of lupin, quinoa and barley. But valued for its relatively short time to maturity (seven the corporation contemplates the inclusion of lentil versus 12 months) and is used to complement the local and rye to overcome this limitation. Traditional varieties which farmers continue to grow. Combining practices of reciprocity and solidarity are respected, varieties helps to maintain diversity and yield stability meaning that farmers can still obtain seeds as a loan, on the farm as well as achieving year-round food secu- through exchange and also as gifts. rity. Two farmers from each community, represented in the corporation, started to specialise in seed production and to supply four corresponding seed banks. Other farmers began to specialise in machinery operation and The farmers decided focusing on value addition (de-bittering and developing to implement a products such as flour and ice cream). The partnership between farmers and researchers participatory seed from PRONALEG-GA continued after CORPOPU- RUWA was setup. For instance, researchers facilitated certification system

22 | Farming Matters | June 2016 The issue of quality assurance became problematic Gaining ground, growing when the corporation decided to expand seed produc- confident Overcoming challenges on their tion. Selling lupin seeds requires a sanitary certifica- fields is not the end of the story. Several obstacles tion that most farmers cannot afford. Inspired by expe- existed for revaluing lupin as a food source, particu- riences of ‘participatory guarantee systems’ for certifi- larly amongst urban citizens. Improving the de-bitter- cation of organic and agroecological production, the ing process was seen as a fundamental step – both to farmers decided to implement a participatory seed improve water use efficiency and to ensure the taste certification system, overseen by the ethics committee. and appeal of the grain. Researchers from INIAP Each seed bank has a certification committee, made developed a pilot processing plant. Subsequently, a up of farmers trusted within their community and with family business, L’verde, adopted and improved the knowledge on seed production. The committee works process. L’verde was one of the first businesses to sell with the seed producers and in turn advises the ethics lupin to supermarkets, school cafeterias, and committee which authorises the use of the corpora- restaurants. Such businesses play an important role tion’s ‘desert seed’ label. connecting rural producers and urban consumers. This is a work in progress and the corporation cur- Moreover, researchers from INIAP and CORPOPU- rently distributes seed via both participatory and ‘of- RUWA also promoted lupin consumption through ficial’ certification approaches. They currently sell workshops with chefs, nutritionists, students and their seeds, both in Chimborazo Province, as well as citizens, the production of a recipe book and radio in other provinces in the central and northern high- advertisements promoting its nutritional benefits. lands. As the only local producer of high quality seed, These efforts resulted in increased consumption, the corporation can take credit for the increasing both by producing households and buyers, and number of farmers growing lupin with locally-pro- adoption of new recipes. duced seed.

Lupin crops in the village of Pull San Pedro, Guamote. Their experience has Photo: Nelson Mazón become a reference for other farmers

By rescuing their local knowledge and using their skills, organised lupin farmers of CORPOPURUWA have gained autonomy in addressing their own needs. They have improved and increased lupin production and contributed to more local consumption with ben- efits to their families’ income and diets. In the process, they have gained confidence, and their experience has become a reference for other famers in neigh- bouring communities as well as for similar projects promoted by both the public and private sectors. For instance, a similar government programme to revital- ise lupin production in Bolivia has been launched. The farmers’ success can be partly attributed to the way they work together. The successful cooperation, supported through various partnerships and institu- tions, enabled innovative solutions to be born and also to focus broadly on the different issues that were con- straining lupin production – from the seeds to the market.

Nelson Mazón ([email protected]), Eduardo Peralta ([email protected]), Elena Villacrés, and Ángel Murillo are researchers from PRONALEG-GA, INIAP, in Quito, Ecuador.

22 | Farming Matters | June 2016 Farming Matters | June 2016 | 23 VALUING TRADITIONAL PLANTS > SOLIDARITY ECONOMY Linking food choice with biodiversity Berlin is the German city with the largest number of stores, but dominant distributers and organic supermarkets exclude small scale farmers from the market. By dropping fences between producers and customers, a retailers’ cooperative is raising public awareness about the relationship between food choices, food sovereignty, and the conservation of agrobiodiversity. Jens Herbold

n 2009, three friends and I subrented a ware- riculture scheme or related networks of solidarity, and house in Kreuzberg, one of Berlin’s central seek to increase their retailing opportunities. A number neighborhoods. For organics, just as with of the producers are agricultural cooperatives, for in- conventional food chains, the control of the stance, we source pasta from the Iris Collective, a com- large retail groups is growing. This leaves almost munity that has been farming since the 1970s. Upon no space for small producers. We wanted to delivering their own goods many producers buy food Ishorten distribution chains and engage in trade with from other collectives right away. Other customers are independent producers and production cooperatives members of food or housing cooperatives. and to start collective action towards food sovereignty. When we start working with producers, together we This is how Schnittstelle, our retail cooperative, was assess our ideological compatibility. For example, we born. The principle is simple. Schnittstelle aims to dis- check if we share the same idea of ‘organic’. Afterwards tribute cooperatively produced foods, seeds and bever- we discuss selling prices to find an ‘economically ages to consumers interested in supporting alternative correct’ price – one that is affordable for those who pay, forms of economy and agriculture. The producers we and is also fair for producers and distributers. It is a lot work with, many of them located in the vicinities of of work to make this is possible and we are always Berlin, are usually part of a Community Supported Ag- seeking new producers, consumers and volunteers.

An interface Schnittstelle means interface – the purpose of this initiative. As well as a food distrib- uter, Schnittstelle is a platform for exchange of information between rural and urban areas and producers and consumers. On our blog and in our newsletter we discuss and showcase alternatives to the dominant capitalist, agricultural system. We used to organise film events but now other groups in Berlin, with similar interests, continue this activity.

A box full of biodiversity A recurring theme on our blog is agrobiodiversity, which is closely Ringed beetroot produced by the Commune Gustritz. related to food sovereignty. In Germany, as in most parts

24 | Farming Matters | June 2016 VALUING TRADITIONAL PLANTS > SOLIDARITY ECONOMY

Schnittstelle sells products from traditional crops grown by small scale farmers.

The best way to achieve approved for cultivation in Germany. That does not mean, however, that these all are cultivated. We wanted agrobiodiversity to focus people’s attention on this issue and welcomed the opportunity to support a small brewery in Lower conservation is by eating it Bavaria, the Riedenburger Brauhaus. They produce beers from neglected cereals: millet, einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum), and (Triticum of Europe, a considerable portion of the food we eat dicoccon). Their beers are regularly included in the comes from abroad. People do not choose what they biodiversity boxes, and so is the bread made from eat, they choose from the range of products presented ‘historical’ cereals produced by the bakers collective to them. As well as talking about agrobiodiversity, the Backstube. The bread is so popular that this bakery has best way to achieve its conservation is by eating it. now included it in their regular product line. Therefore, in 2012 we started a box scheme with crops Moreover, through our business model, we also that had long become rare in supermarkets and food want to make consumers aware of their power to bring outlets. We called it the ‘Biodiversity box scheme’. This people back to the centre of agriculture and to act on box is delivered monthly to 50 subscribers. It is made up that power. In industrial agriculture, farmers are often of unusual products, for example open pollinated vegeta- relegated to pure commodity producers. The cultiva- bles, kamut (Triticum turanicum) pasta, fruit juice from tion of diverse varieties, on the other hand, is less mo- old varieties, or rare seeds we obtain from small plant notonous and the labour involved should be remuner- breeders. The boxes also include recipes and background ated accordingly. But producers, who practice small information on these products so that people can learn scale, diverse agriculture, have little chance to assert about them. According to many subscribers this informa- themselves against companies and retailers who tion is a highly valued part of the box. dictate low prices. Cooperatives like Schnittstelle, by shortening the chain and building a network, make it Consumption for food sover- possible for these producers to be paid fairly. By di- eignty The Biodiversity box scheme seeks to raise rectly supporting small scale producers who preserve awareness of how our food choices greatly influence our biodiversity, we exercise our right to define our agrobiodiversity. For example, in the 19th century there own fair and diverse food system. were about 1000 wheat varieties in Germany, which were adapted to our regional climate and soil. Now, Jens Herbold ([email protected]) is an activist in the only 30 remain. According to the Federal Varieties fields of solidarity economy, agriculture, food sovereignty, Office, as of April 2013, 734 cereal varieties are climate change, and (anti-)nuclear power.

24 | Farming Matters | June 2016 Farming Matters | June 2016 | 25 LOCALLY ROOTED > IDEAS AND INITIATIVES FROM THE FIELD

Just as plants, humans will not survive without their roots. The experiences here highlight initiatives in which farmers, peasants, and educators have successfully organised themselves to rescue their traditional crops and revive their culinary traditions, thereby strengthening their cultural identity. Crop diversity makesIndia school kids proud handan’s grandmother is surprised to find to support a revival of traditional crops. her 10 year old grandson carefully taking The effects of climate change, amongst other factors, down the recipe of jhungre ki kheer, a have played a major role in many farmers’ decisions pudding made with barnyard millet, that to give up farming and opt for regular wages, often in Cshe has not tasted in the past 30 years. Chandan urban areas. This has taken its toll on many traditional is one of the children from Odhla High School, grains and pulses, with some having completely Govindpur participating disappeared. But, the past four years have seen progress, in a traditional recipe with some traditional crops regaining popularity, on competition conducted farmers’ fields and in the newly setup community in their school by the seedbank. Measures to ensure the long term success Smallholder Innovation of this biodiversity revival include the involvement for Resilience (SIFOR) of existing institutions such as schools, as well as team. The programme creating new ones like women’s self help groups and has been working in five crop-protection committees. The recipe competition villages in the Kumaon engages kids to not only learn about his agricultural Himalayas since 2012 heritage but also become a successful farmer who is to assess aspects of proud of the diversity of crops on his farm. traditional agriculture, its For more information contact Prakriti Mukerjee Photo: Prakriti Mukerjee climate preparedness and ([email protected]).

Bambara groundnutZambia gets the attention it deserves ambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea), a tolerance. Beatrice Sepiso, a farmer from Kaoma district legume crop indigenous to sub-Saharan explains: “We would have to cultivate one lima (0.25 Africa, is widespread amongst smallholders in hectares) of lituu (Bambara groundnuts) the old way Zambia. Farmers adapt cultivation techniques to achieve what was managed in two lines!” Access to Bdepending on their soil and climate. For instance, in enough seed and reducing the labour required to process drier regions it is planted next to termite mounds and the groundnut are two remaining challenges. As well, in wetter regions on top of ridges. However, it is often the cultural, nutritional and agronomic value of such outcompeted by crops such as maize and cassava. This indigenous foods needs to be celebrated in the national prompted farmers to start experimenting three years ago. discourse around food sovereignty. Concern Worldwide, an international NGO, facilitated For more information contact Paul Wagstaff (Paul. the farmers’ experiments which also included cowpeas, [email protected]). soybeans and peanuts. One result was the high density at which Bambara groundnut can be successfully planted and that it is great for intercropping due to its drought

26 | Farming Matters | June 2016

Photo: Kkibumba, via Wikimedia Commons LOCALLY ROOTED > IDEAS AND INITIATIVES FROM THE FIELD

Seeds of resistance limate change, urbanPalestine expansion of the theirs, an ancient ancestral heritage represented in Israeli settlement, and the dominance of seed and story that has kept us alive and well for hybrid seeds are putting many farmers’ millennia.” Sansour hopes that by building cultural traditional varieties and Palestine’s farming links to their past and reversing the disappearance Cheritage at risk. This prompted Vivien Sansour to of their traditional plants, young Palestinians will return home to the West Bank city of Beit Jala to strengthen the resistance of the occupation. At the start the ‘Palestinian Heirloom Seed Library’. While launch, in Battir, guests were able to view the seed there is a seed bank in Palestine, established by the collection, the work of the students and teachers, as Union of Agricultural Work Committees in 2008, the well as heirloom plant library, sponsored by the Walid and Helen Kattan varieties growing on one Science and Education Program and A.M. Qattan of Battir’s world heritage Foundation, combines science education and art. In site terraces. the lead up to the library’s launch in June this year, For more information Sansour conducted workshops with school teachers contact Vivien to find new ways to engage students in the process of Sansour (https:// retrieving, “their agri-cultural heritage.” Sansour: “We www.facebook.com/ want to bring back the true meaning of talib (student palestineheirloomseeds/) in Arabic) to the classroom. We want our young generations to question and search for what is rightly Photo: Ayed Arafah and Vivien Sansour

A chef-peasantPeru alliance n 2007, the Peruvian Gastronomy Society started the loss of agrobiodiversity and social inequality. promoting alliances between small scale farmers Through the alliance’s promotion of local produce, and chefs to bridge biodiversity and the culinary farmers avoid intermediaries and obtain better prices use of traditional Peruvian foods. This initiative, for their products through direct commercialisation Icoined ‘the Chef and Peasant Alliance’, seeks to at weekly markets and food fairs. Cooks, chefs, and support small producers, artisanal fishermen, and restaurateurs, on the other hand, profit from this peasant producers to link with Peru’s gastronomic business opportunity as they depend on agricultural sector. The main objective was to take action against products and the enormous diversity of traditional crops, tubers, and fruits. The alliance, moreover, serves as a platform for knowledge sharing where chefs and peasants learn from each other’s realities, needs, and aspirations and innovate new dishes and ways of producing. In this process, farmers gain awareness of how valuable their products are to their fellow Peruvians: during food fairs, farmers and their products receive a lot of attention from the media, the public, research organisations and NGOs. The fairs are not only a means of empowerment for farmers, but also a celebration of Andean agrobiodiversity. For more information contact Silvia Sarapura Escobar ([email protected]) Photo: Guillermo Yupanqui 26 | Farming Matters | June 2016 Farming Matters | June 2016 | 27 Photo: Rick Burnette

Planting roots with non-timber forest products

In recent decades, resource challenged hill tribe farmers and gardeners in northern Thailand have recognised the importance of various threatened species that yield non-timber forest products. Conserving these species in agroforests has not only secured farmers’ access to valued types of food, fibre, and construction materials, but also improved fallows and the integration of displaced communities from Myanmar. Rick Burnette and Abram Bicksler

28 | Farming Matters | June 2016 REVALUING TRADITIONAL PLANTS > AGROFORESTRY

hile chickens forage in the indigenous species around their homes. These includ- undergrowth, Jawa Jalo tends ed perennial vegetables such as snowflake tree (Treve- a productive forest-like sia palmata), rattan, cluster fig (Ficus racemosa), red garden at his home in shoot fig (Ficus virens), and climbing acacia (Acacia northern Thailand. About pennata). 0.16 ha in size, he established theW plot in 2003 on degraded land adjoining his home. It contains 27 different crop varieties, the majority being indigenous non-timber forest product (NTFP) species. The dense, multi-storey planting of trees, Access to forest resources vines, and shrubs provide Jawa (a resident of the Red Lahu community of Huai Pong) with a constant helps supplement supply of food and fibre, both for household consump- tion and the market. household nutrition The Red Lahu, Palaung, Akha, Lisu, and Karen are amongst many ethnic groups residing in the Sri Lanna National Park, in Chiang Mai province. Originally rooted in neighbouring Myanmar, many of these com- Farmer-to-farmer learning Inspired munities fled armed conflict more than three decades by these locally developed approaches, the Upland ago and sought refuge in Thailand. Migrant commu- Holistic Development Project has been promoting nities in Thailand are routinely marginalised by the community driven NTFP agroforestry in northern local population and suffer limited and uncertain Thailand since 1999. The project supports farmer-to- access to farmland. farmer exchange where households already practicing some form of agroforestry offer models for other Innovation born out of need farmers to learn from. These households provide inspi- Before the establishment of the National Park in 1989, ration and offer assistance to newly established local farmers practiced shifting cultivation, with fallow communities. For example, they provide planting cycles of up to nine years, growing mainly upland rice materials, practical information and encouragement. and other crops, such as sesame, chillies, cowpea and Some of the farmers also host demonstration plots. As pigeon pea. Access to forests enables this traditional a result, the newcomer communities, which often form of farming and helps to supplement household settle in environmentally degraded areas, have begun nutrition, as well as provide medicines, construction to explore and experiment with indigenous forest materials, and other products. However, environmen- species in their home gardens. tal degradation and legal restrictions progressively weakened traditional forest-based livelihoods. With ever greater restrictions on shifting cultivation in northern Thailand, existing forest-fallow periods are increasingly brief, often only a few years. And house- holds are now restricted to small plots of untitled land that was cleared decades ago. To cope with diminishing access to forest resources, other hill tribe communities outside of the Sri Lanna Park began family agroforestry plots for the production of NTFPs. For instance, while cultivating traditional field crops, some farmers have integrated forest species as another source of edibles in their fallowed fields. These NTFPs often include rattan (Calamus and Daemonorops spp.), valued for fibre and edible shoots, as well as prickly ash (Zanthoxylum rhetsa) which pro- duces a marketable spice. But indigenous NTFP species were not only inte- grated into fallowed fields, people also started to grow them in their home gardens. The migrant Palaung communities are among the most recent arrivals and face particularly limited access to farmland and forest NTFP species are almost always included in home products. As a result, many families began planting gardens. Photo: Rick Burnette

28 | Farming Matters | June 2016 Farming Matters | June 2016 | 29 Factors of success Indigenous and naturalised forest species are valued for inclusion in agroforestry systems because they require few, if any, external inputs. Next to the Sri Lanna National Park, cultivation of NTFPs is successful where, for most communities, shifting cultivation is no longer an option. Depending on the diversity of plantings and the seasonal productivity of each crop, NTFPs are also able to offer year-round production, which gives them an advantage over annual crops. They are, moreover, products that are suited to local tastes and needs, some of which are readily marketable. Amongst these communities, cultivation of NTFPs has also been widely adopted thanks to the sustained support for farmer-to-farmer exchanges from local and international NGOs and civil society. NTFP species play a significant role in the regional economy. Photo: Rick Burnette

A fine line NTFPs are often managed and NTFPs offer year-round harvested at a subsistence level and are not usually considered to be important crops, particularly in production comparison to major regional commodities such as rice and maize. But the hill tribe farmers in northern Thailand prove the opposite. NTFPs, which play a significant role in the regional economy and in house- hold food and nutritional security, are often long-domes- A growing forest Although Jawo Jalo has ticated crops derived from the forests of the region – for not kept accurate records of establishment or mainte- example, longan (Dimocarpus longan), bael fruit (Aegle nance costs of his garden, his income has increased marmelos), and prickly ash. These domesticated species substantially since 2008 from sales of NTFPs – pri- also help to preserve local cuisines and culture, while marily rattan and fishtail-palm shoots, as well as contributing to regional biodiversity and forest preserva- vegetables. Nearby farmers report increased income tion. Almost always included in backyard home gardens, from NTFPs as well. One of these farmers is Mr. NTFPs are not only for household consumption, but Namsaeng Loongmuang from Pang Daeng Nai, a sold in markets. These may include annual and peren- nearby migrant community. He cultivates a 0.64 ha nial vegetables and fruits such as climbing acacia leaves, agroforestry plot similar to Mr. Jalo’s. He also promotes salae flower buds (Broussonetia kurzii), rattan shoots, ivy agroforestry, hosting an average of 10 groups per year gourd shoots (Coccinia grandis), fronds of vegetable fern with visitors coming from more than six countries. (Diplazium esculentum), spiny lasia leaves (Lasia In the meantime, approximately 190 families have spinosa), cassod tree leaves, bael fruit and Burmese grape established NTFPs in their home gardens, diversified (Baccaurea ramiflora). permanent upland fields, or mixed orchards. Another Moreover, NTFPs are often established on perma- 88 households have adopted and maintained backyard nent upland fields among fruit trees, with density and gardens with NTFP crops. NTFP-focused agroforestry variety needed to create a multi-storied structure. Larger is proving to be a viable option amongst migrant com- trees form the canopy and smaller NTFP species grow munities in northern Thailand struggling to sustain in between or underneath the canopy and use the upland cultivation and access to land. At this rate, it larger trees for support. In more remote locations where can be expected that this option will continue to short-cultivation, long-fallow swidden cycles still exist, spread, in northern Thailand and to neighbouring the opportunity to improve fallows with useful NTFP countries where groups face similar landuse pressures. species – such as tea (Camellia sinensis), rattan, prickly ash, fan palm (Livistona sp.), black sugar palm (Arenga Rick Burnette ([email protected]) was involved for 14 westerhoutii), and leguminous species such as the years in agriculture and community development in the cassod tree (Senna siamea), lablab (Lablab purpureus), Thai-Myanmar border. He is currently Director of Agricul- and rice bean (Vigna umbellata) – increases the value ture at ECHO in Ft. Myers, Florida. Abram Bicksler of the fallow by maximising and diversifying agroforestry ([email protected] ) is the Director of the ECHO Asia production and improving soils. Impact Center in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

30 | Farming Matters | June 2016 OPINION

he commercial potential of native plant foods in Australia (‘bush foods’) has boomed over the past 50 Tyears. Markets are growing for around 15-20 species, including macadamia, lemon myrtle and Quandong. There is room for everyone involved, including researchers, traders, manufacturers and consumers, to better recognise and respect the role of Aboriginal peoples as custodians of their traditional resources and associated knowledge. Kylie Lingard ([email protected]) is a researcher at the University of New England, Australia. She explores strategies to support the interests of Indig- For Aboriginal peoples, the remote desert represents a enous peoples in the commercialisation of traditional cultural, nutritional and medicinal lifeline. Native plant and plant foods. animal species feature in important songs, stories, ceremonies and trade. Wild harvesting of native plants is a way to practice and pass on knowledge that has sustained species and peoples for millennia. Customary laws regulate the use of, and the knowledge associated with, these plants. Compliance with these is core to Aboriginal culture and wellbeing.

The emerging industry relies on Aboriginal knowledge, documented by researchers since colonisation. Valuable knowledge includes plants that are safe to eat, preferred growing conditions, and harvest and post-harvest techniques. This knowledge, often published without consent, would otherwise take years to obtain.

Mainstream commercial interest creates an economic opportunity for Aboriginal peoples, but their capacity to realise these is constrained by the impact of desert weather on wild harvest yields, and limited access to land, water, technology, training, buyers, finance, transport, and business advice. On top of these practical challenges is limited legal support. Key issues include the prioritisation of horticultural production over wild harvest, which may exclude women harvesters, and the lack of requirement for people to obtain Making traditional custodian consent prior to development and share profits with the peoples whose knowledge is being used.

‘Business as usual’ approaches to the development of new ‘bush food’ species are likely to prolong these inequities. This underpins the call by a group of remote Aboriginal women for a set of commercial principles based on respect and support for markets Aboriginal interests. Complementary legal measures might help level the commercial playing field. They could include a time- limited right for Aboriginal peoples to exclusively develop species not yet commercialised, and mechanisms to ensure Aboriginal fair peoples with a cultural connection to a species receive royalties from its commercialisation. An ongoing conversation amongst people involved in the industry would likely generate more ideas to help markets for new species develop in a fair and equitable way – one that fairly acknowledges, respects and remunerates Aboriginal peoples’ relationships and contributions to bush food.

Farming Matters | June 2016 | 31 Farmers’ firm grip on diversity

Photo: Leah Samberg3232 | | FarmingFarming MattersMatters | |June June 2010 2016 REVALUING TRADITIONAL PLANTS > FARMERS’ SEEDS Over 50 crop species grow on farms in the Gamo Highlands. Farmers use this diversity to meet nutritional, cultural and production needs under variable conditions. In the face of population growth, increased access to improved seed, and cultural and political pressures, maintenance of crop diversity requires more attention than ever before. To this end, farmers and other actors are working to celebrate the region’s traditional crops and management strategies with the hope of preserving both the diversity and culture that depends on it. Leah Samberg

he Gamo Highlands rise from the thermore, this diversity helps maximise productivity, Ethiopian Rift Valley to elevations of up and allows farmers to meet a range of dietary and cul- to 4000 metres. The heterogeneous tural needs. For example, farmers cultivate dozens of mountain landscape and 10,000 years of barley varieties, selected for their taste, colour, and cultivation have resulted in a diversified texture and also to match specific soil types, elevation, agroecosystem that includes annual and moisture levels, and topography. Enset diversity is also Tperennial cropping, agroforestry, and livestock. very high, with more than 100 documented varieties Agriculture revolves around enset (Ensete ventrico- in Ethiopia, and up to 60 varieties found in each sum), a perennial tree crop that serves as a staple food Gamo community. for seven to ten million people. A traditional Gamo homestead is ringed by an enset Traditional crops under threat In plantation, a mixture of agroforestry trees, vegetable, the past decades, land shortages have worsened, and root crops. Beyond this ring are crop fields, parts forcing farmers to abandon traditional barley varieties, of which are left fallow for use as private grazing land. indigenous root crops, sorghum, and other staples. As Lowland crops, such as coffee, sugar cane, cassava, farms shrink, government extension has increased sweet potato, and yam extend to elevations of 2400 m promotion of improved seed and fertilizer packages, as or more. Mid-altitude crops such as taro, squash, well as fruit and vegetable crops for market. These wheat, peppers, and beans are present in all but the packages are often components of larger programmes highest communities (above 2800 m), where enset, tied to development aid and combined with other barley, cabbage, potato, and gade dono (Plectranthus incentives. Yet many farmers experience crop failure edulis) dominate. Wild species are also tolerated on or cannot acquire necessary inputs in the years fallow fields and intercropped with cultivated species. following initial adoption. In some cases farmers purchase these inputs on credit, and are unable to pay off their loans when crops fail, forcing them to sell livestock or drain savings. Farmers cultivate dozens In addition, several government and church inter- ventions have damaged social institutions that allow of barley varieties farmers to manage and maintain crop diversity. For instance, enforced participation in work-for-food pro- grammes along with new religious obligations have caused the breakdown of many traditional communal labour institutions. In addition to these social changes, The Ethiopian highlands are a global centre of crop enset crops are increasingly threatened by disease, genetic diversity. Rich pools of genetic material help likely related to rising temperatures and changes in protect crops against pest and disease outbreaks, rainfall patterns. In several lower elevation communi- provide insurance in the face of variable condtions, ties, bacteria that cause wilt disease (Xanthomonas and allow crops to adapt to a changing climate. Fur- campestris) have decimated enset plots.

32 | Farming Matters | June 2016 Farming Matters | June 2016 | 33 Homestead ringed by enset plantation. Photo: Leah Samberg

Combining new and old “We grow crops and foods. However, the country’s political climate everything here but salt,” said a group of farmers from can impede the ability of these organisations to operate the mid-altitude community of Bele. In the Gamo, the freely, or expand their reach. highest on-farm crop diversity is found in mid-altitude Scientific and academic institutions also recognise the regions, which provide a diverse source of products for importance of Gamo farmers’ traditional agricultural lowland and highland farmers. Strong ties between knowledge. For example, Arba Minch University, in the communities at different altitudes underpin traditional valley below the Gamo Highlands, recently hosted an systems of seed sourcing and exchange. Farmers travel international symposium celebrating enset uses and di- long distances to acquire seed at local and regional mar- versity as part of the ongoing Enset Park project. The idea kets, often at different elevations. Farmers who visit a behind the Enset Park is to promote and conserve enset greater number of markets are more likely to have diversity through research, teaching and outreach. A higher crop diversity on their farms. similar initiative, from Dilla University, has focused on Although farmer managed seed systems are under pres- community outreach by creating a food festival, ‘enset on sure, farmers have found ways to augment, rather than wheels’. These activities are resonating within local gov- replace, their traditional seeds. In addition to visiting local ernment offices, which are becoming increasingly and regional markets, they also source seeds from govern- aligned with farmers’ needs by propagating enset and ment extension offices through aid programmes, trials, other traditional crops in nurseries. An expanding enset and credit packages. Farmers with more access to land and nursery in the regional town of Chencha is one example. resources are more easily able to combine both tradition- Nationally, the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute has ally- and formally-sourced seed. These farmers are often a collected more than 80,000 accessions of indigenous source of seeds for their neighbours and family, in addition species, including crop varieties. These are valuable for to selling surplus at local markets. Diversified options for global and local crop breeding efforts, as varieties that are sourcing seed allow farmers to experiment with new varie- resilient to changing climate, pest, and disease conditions ties. For example, one farmer may obtain maize varieties may be used to develop more robust and productive from lowland markets, barley varieties from high elevation crops. However, for these seeds to benefit Gamo farmers, markets, wheat from government extension, and fruits and crops must be appropriate to variable highland condi- vegetables from an aid programme. tions and seasonally available for an affordable price. There is no single pathway toward sustainable and Celebrating knowledge By strengthen- productive agriculture in the Gamo Highlands. For ing social institutions and drawing on their rich knowl- these changing systems to reach a new balance, farmers edge base, farmers and other actors counteract the threats and communities will need access to all available to their traditional crops. “We already know how to farm,” options – old and new – through local and regional said one farmer, reflecting the sentiments of many others markets, government extension, and new combinations who maintain traditional crops and view with scepticism of formal and farmer managed seed networks. Adapting the changes brought about from the top down. Cultural to the changes facing Ethiopia requires diversity – of associations, such as CASE (the Culture and Arts Society approaches, institutions, stakeholders, crops, and genes. of Ethiopia), educational institutions, and external organisations such as the Christensen Fund, host Dr. Leah Samberg ([email protected]) is a research symposia, conferences, traditional festivals, and art and associate with the Global Landscapes Initiative at the music exhibitions. These activities promote traditional University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment.

34 | Farming Matters | June 2016 YOUTH AND AGRICULTURE

Youth find hope in crops of their elders

saw a film recently about the leftovers of war in Afghanistan’s northern province of Badakhshan. IIt is a beautiful film that shows the resourcefulness and strength of youth. But like most media and the stories we read about the region, its focus is on violence, the undeniable, under-the-skin truth of something that has been etched into the collective soul of a people. There is hope, but it is difficult to see where hope might cling to and how it will transform itself into something tangible in the lives of these young people.

I wrote a book about Badakhshan, together with my friend Jamila Haider. We didn’t mention war as much – our book is about food and agriculture, and the culture and identity that spring from them. The war is now largely absent in the Pamir Mountains, the part of Badakhshan where we worked. When we began to write about Pamiri food, we wanted Photo: Judith Quax simply to document elders’ recipes. That way, we Frederik van Oudenhoven (34) (fvanouden- hoped their crops and unique varieties of fruit and [email protected]) is a co-author, with grains would continue to be used in the future. Jamila Haider, of ‘With our own hands’, a book in English, Dari and Tajik, about But as we began to cook together and hear the the cultural and agricultural history of the old people’s stories, food revealed a quiet power: Afghan and Tajik Pamirs. The book was “look around,” a grandfather told us over a bowl of awarded 2016 ‘cookbook of the year’ by the soup, “everything you see, the fields, the canals, the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. soil, the seeds, the stones of the mills… we made it ourselves. With our own hands. No help.” Where war and peacebuilding, and generally the efforts of development agencies, are external forces far beyond the reach of ordinary farmers, the making of In the past two decades, as the role of markets local, traditional food, rooted in traditional crops and increased, over two thirds of young Pamiri men agricultural practices, is a source of strength, ability have left their mountains in search of money. and culture – something to channel the energy of Farming is not an easy source of income. However, young Pamiris that is very different from war. the Russian ruble crisis is now forcing many of them back to their land. Many have forgotten or never Seen in this broader way, food is a powerful tool learnt how to farm. The knowledge they need is for young farmers to make sense of the present, not in the hands of development agencies, it is to explain drastic changes in landscape, trade, with their elders within their communities. The and social relations, and so to imagine a future of coming years are crucial for young farmers to their own, unmarred by the unyielding presence reconnect not only to their land, but also to the of corruption, violence, and foreign markets. knowledge and crops of their elders.

Farming Matters | June 2016 | 35 Photo: Didier Bazile

Fair & sustainable expansion of traditional crops – lessons from quinoa The recent boom in quinoa cultivation provides many lessons for an agroecological transition that enhances agricultural biodiversity. Looking at the effects of quinoa expansion, this article analyses how to protect peasant varieties, support free and fair flow of germplasm and engage in new ways of doing research. Didier Bazile

uinoa (Chenopodium quinoa half of the 20th century. Since then, the number of Willd.) is a cultivated grain crop countries importing quinoa increased, and quinoa is that originates in the Andes. cultivated in countries outside the Andes. The United Thanks to its high genetic diversity, Nations declared 2013 International Year of Quinoa as the crop grows under extreme recognition of the role of the Andean peoples in climate and soil conditions and is maintaining quinoa biodiversity and of the grain’s high Qtolerant to frost, drought, and salinity. Its popularity nutritional value. The rapid expansion of this crop, worldwide is the result of a combination of its hardiness which is still classified by some as a neglected and and nutritional content. After centuries of neglect, the underutilised species, is defying the belief that it only potential of quinoa was rediscovered during the second grows at altitude on the banks of Lake Titicaca, between

36 | Farming Matters | June 2016 PERSPECTIVES > REVALUING TRADITIONAL PLANTS

Peru and Bolivia. Today, nearly 100 countries around intensified and expanded cultivation of quinoa is a the world are growing or testing quinoa. This boom is source of potential conflicts around access to land, prac- bringing about great changes to the way quinoa is tice standardisation, market competitiveness, etc. The produced, to the networks that test it, to distribution and rapid shift from a subsistence economy to a market to the way it is perceived and incorporated into our diet. economy has also accelerated the breakdown of some Among the numerous challenges related to expan- community organisations, which previously managed sion of quinoa, this article focuses on the maintenance land and collective access to resources. For example, and valorisation of quinoa diversity. Is the way in conflicts have emerged when farmers wishing to mecha- which we cultivate, trade and eat quinoa contributing nise quinoa production attempted to move into the to maintaining and increasing its genetic diversity? Is plains that had until then been used for llama and alpaca this benefiting peasant producers? Some ways forward breeding; when former migrants asserted their ancestral for quinoa are proposed, providing general insights for rights to land; or when families decided to extend their other, so called, neglected and underutilised species. cultivated areas and shorten fallow periods. Since the 1990s organic certification, and more recently fairtrade Genetic evolution Since its domestication networks, have supported better remuneration for pro- over 7000 years ago, quinoa seed exchange has ducers and a commitment to support authentic produc- allowed the initial genetic diversity of the species to tion. But can these standards support cultivation and increase, resulting in five major ecotypes in the Andes conservation of quinoa diversity? today. As far back as the 19th century, seeds were already being exchanged with India, later with Kenya Protecting peasant varieties and Tibet, and from the 1980s-90s with the whole of Agrobiodiversity exists solely because it has been created Europe. Presently, quinoa is seen as an interesting and maintained by human practices that preserve local alternative crop in semi-arid environments in the varieties. Local varieties are also known as peasant Mediterranean, Middle East and Asia, in soils that varieties or, in scientific terms, as variety populations. have often been abandoned due to high salinity levels. This refers to groups of genetically unique individual plant species that share certain characteristics which Diversity and communities un- distinguishes them from other peasant varieties. The der pressure A clear majority of Andean large genetic diversity within peasant varieties, as communities grow quinoa using so called ‘traditional’ opposed to the uniformity within improved varieties, practices, based on principles of agroecology, using enables farmers to reduce risk and achieve a stable three components of biodiversity: genetic diversity, average yield. Access to a broad range of varieties is species diversity and ecosystem diversity.

Farmers and researchers Quinoa’s broad uses

only have access While today the global general public knows quinoa for its edible grains, other uses exist to a few varieties in the Andean countries: the consumption of the young leaves and sometimes also the tender panicles in the same way as huauzontle (Chenopodium berlandieri), and also as However, the spread of cultivation of quinoa to all con- animal fodder (fresh or as silage). Additionally, tinents and the increasing regional and global demand quinoa is used in traditional medicine, and for the crop takes place through the introduction of so the use of its leaves, stems and grains is called ‘conventional’ or industrial agricultural models currently being studied for their abortive, employing chemical fertilizers, pesticides and improved healing, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and varieties. This is causing several problems. As a result of disinfectant properties. Similarly, the saponin, the globalised quinoa value chains, and in particular due which previously caused the crop’s rejection, to international seed regulations, farmers and researchers is currently under investigation for its natural outside the Andes only have access to a few improved insecticide and antifungal properties. These varieties of quinoa that are suitable for mechanised culti- broad uses of quinoa contribute to its great vation and post-harvest processing. At the same time, genetic diversity, as is often the case for Andean peasant systems are at risk of destabilisation as traditional plants.

36 | Farming Matters | June 2016 Farming Matters | June 2016 | 37 essential for being able to make cropping decisions in Knowledge cross-pollination response to climate and soil conditions, technical Participatory breeding initiatives, and in particular constraints, personal preferences, or market demands. Evolutionary , allow knowledge cross- Genetic diversity loss is typical within conventional pollination by placing trust, from the outset, in peasant plant improvement processes that seek to move away farmers to integrate a new species or variety into their from heterogeneity within variety populations and farming system. This type of plant breeding also consid- towards emphasising characteristics that are deemed ers the development of new variety populations, capable important. In the case of drought resistance or better of evolving and adapting to their environment, which soil salinity tolerance, varietal selection favours char- simultaneously guarantees production stability and active acteristics that have nothing to do with nutritional conservation of the species’ genetic resources. properties or other characteristics that would allow the While moving away from standardisation of crop species to adapt to a new environment. Similarly, varieties, their protection must also be questioned as it current quinoa selection and improvement focussed impedes the pursuit of biodiversity creation. In this on several nutritional criteria runs the risk of a drift sense, current regulations pertaining to germplasm towards biofortification. However, it is actually the flow and plant variety rights are problematic for the overall balance of quinoa’s composition that must be evolution of quinoa diversity. preserved. This will allow farmers to have production stability through active conservation of the species. Free flow of germplasm The The implementation of multi-criteria plant breeding combination of international regulations governing linking yield, disease resistance and nutritional value the spread of quinoa germplasm does not promote hinges on making compromises between these differ- easy and fair access to quinoa’s genetic resources. ent factors in order to drive varietal improvement. And Further, it creates a situation where most researchers in fact, this is what peasants have always done. outside of the Andes are experimenting with a very narrow genetic base. Real tracking of the spread of quinoa germplasm Farmers in the Andes use genetic, species and would enable the origin of the seeds for quinoa experi- ecosystem diversity. Photo: Didier Bazile ments to be ascertained, and demonstrate the impor- tance of individuals and networks of research institu- tions in genetic material exchange outside of any legal framework. More transparency in these flows may provide greater recognition of peasants’ breeding efforts and generate questions about the efficiency of the current regulations. Undoubtedly, free circulation of genetic resources for biodiversity development would help to overcome the complex discussions regarding their intellectual property. When we think inside a system it is always difficult to imagine that another system could exist. However, models of free access to seeds by a group of users united under a common charter could transform how we think about seed regulation. Alternative models would allow us to put forward a single conceptual framework for the dif- ferent seed users, but all committed to crop development through processes that preserve, if not increase, biodiver- sity. The Open Seed Source License is one example and the Global Collaborative Network on Quinoa, which I am currently developing, both have the goal to unite a community of practice, including farmers, researchers and private selectors, around preserving and creating more biodiversity while using it. New ways of doing science Analysing the changes in progress, whilst simultane- ously being an actor, requires specific methodologies related to oversight and multidisciplinarity if we truly wish to promote quinoa within a global agroecological

38 | Farming Matters | June 2016 International seed regulations are problematic for evolution of quinoa diversity. Photos: Didier Bazile

shift that considers agricultural biodiversity in all its dimensions. Role-play games and participatory modelling are helpful tools for facilitating dialogue and accompanying the process of innovation. Treating quinoa cultivation in the Andes as not only a localised system, but as an agroecological model, can connect our thinking to a geographic process and generate new knowledge that is useful for other species, such as amaranth, chia, fonio or . These are following a similar development pattern, albeit one that is less reported by the media.

should, or even can co-exist. Unlike the development of The evolution of quinoa is other cultivated species, we do not have to rely on reconstructions. With quinoa, we have the opportunity happening before our eyes to act and to test various agricultural theories. It is possible to measure the effects of different policies and standards – ecological, economic and social – on biodiversity dynamics and reflect on the implication for History in the making for the agricultural models (conventional versus agroecology). agroecological transition Conflicts In this sense we can take the study of the dynamics of related to decreased access to and on-farm management quinoa’s genetic diversity as a model for studying those of quinoa genetic diversity questions the viability of the of other neglected or underutilised species. We can use coexistence of agroecological and industrial models of this opportunity to push for an agroecological transition farming and food systems. Certain countries are rooted in agricultural biodiversity. reflecting on the possible coexistence of these two models and such distinction in public policies already Didier Bazile ([email protected]) is an agroecologist exists in several countries, including Peru. In summary, with a PhD in Rural Geography. He works at the GREEN because the evolution of quinoa is happening before Research Unit of the Centre de cooperation Internationale our eyes, it provides a unique opportunity to analyse en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, whether these two competing production models CIRAD - France.

38 | Farming Matters | June 2016 Farming Matters | June 2016 | 39 MIND! > BOOKS AND FILMS Bread, wine, chocolate: The slow loss of foods we love Simran Sethi. 2015. HarperOne 352 pages. ISBN: 9780061581076 “The following is about food, but it’s really about love.” Over the past few decades, our diets have changed drastically. 95 % of the world’s calories now come from only thirty species of crops. Naturally, this has vast implications for bio- diversity worldwide. In her book, award-winning author Simran Sethi draws on interviews with multiple food experts and practitioners to explain how we got to this point in our food system and, equally important, how we can take action. The author challenges the reader to learn more about what kinds of different foods are available. That is why this book is also about love; it is a journey into the extraor- dinary flavours and aromas of rich biodiversity. It helps us re-appreciate what is on our plates, what it is made of and where it comes from. Through awareness raising, Sethi aims to start a revolution and to increase biodiversity of the world’s agricul- tural system.

Where our food comes from – Retracing Nikolay Vavilov’s quest to end famine Gary Paul Nabhan. 2008. Island Press 264 pages. ISBN: 9781610910033 Gary Paul Nabhan takes us on a journey to recognise the work of Nikolay Vavilov’s quest to solve the Russian famines in the 1940s amidst a Communist state. He travels to five continents, where Vavilov collected thousands of seeds and docu- mented more than just the plants that our domesticated foods of today originated from. Nabhan retraces Vavilov’s footsteps, documenting the irreversible genetic erosion in these agrobiodiversity hotspots. He also speaks with the local farmers and scientists working to prevent the loss of our remaining plant genetic resourc- es. Comparing the notes made by Vavilov over half a century ago, reveals how much diversity has already been lost. Shifts in agricultural practices and traditions are explored by Nabhan from an international political ecology context; these findings are valuable for the health and survival of humanity.

Restoring heritage grains: The culture, biodiversity, resilience, and cuisine of ancient Eli Rogosa. Available July, 2016. Chelsea Green Publisihing 272 pages. ISBN: 9781603586702 Author Eli Rogosa found her passion in the Middle East, working with farmers in the Fertile Crescent to preserve the treasure of ancient landrace wheat. Newly intro- duced with this forgotten source of biodiversity in grains, she began dedicating her work towards valorising these ancient grains such as Indian wheat, or shot, a drought-tolerant and high-protein grain. Backed with years of knowledge and ex- perience working with these grains from her biodiverse farm to her artisan bakery, Eli’s story inspires one to explore our co-evolution with ancient grains and how these ancient grains offer a solution to enjoying high quality breads once again. Her compelling story will inspire the readers to reconnect the importance of these endangered species from the fields to our diets and provide the tools to help us participate in finding our connection with the first crop humans domesticated.

40 | Farming Matters | June 2016 MIND! > BOOKS AND FILMS Pulse of life, the rich biodiversity of edible legumes Vandana Shiva. 2016. Navdanya. ISBN: 9788181582720 This book is an offering to the International Year of the Pulses and to commemo- rate the 30th anniversary year of Navdanya. The book draws our attention to the negative effects of the industrial farming systems that have developed in the last few decades by referencing to the rise of and high external input farming. As a response to those negative effects, the authors celebrate pulses and the characteristics of pulses that contribute to a more sustainable, just and healthy food system. They aim to reconnect the reader not only to the diversity in pulses and legumes, but also to the rich diversity in processing, cooking methods and ecological uses of these crops.

West African women defending traditional palm oil GRAIN. 2016. 13:50 min. https://www.grain.org/e/5467 This video by GRAIN portrays artisanal palm oil production in West Africa, an agroecological practice threatened by industrial oil palm plantations. In recent times, industrial palm oil production has been moving rapidly into Africa. This has brought monocultures and disrupted the livelihoods of people who rely on healthy ecosystems. This video shows the fight for the traditions behind palm oil in West and Central Africa, where small peasants are resisting conformity thanks to the women-led traditional processing. From their community-based food system, the end product is a bright red oil; a cultural keystone opposed to what the world market has accustomed us to, a colourless, odourless oil from which the industry makes large profit.

More on traditional plants

In this box, we have included a few Center offers a collection of down- web resources and a publication of- loadable recipes to prepare and fering simple actions to bring the enjoy traditional recipes for East conservation of agrobiodiversity Asian and African vegetables. into our own hands. http://avrdc.org/publications/ recipes/ Ark of taste (Slow Food) The ark of taste is an online catalogue encom- Valuing crop diversity (LEISA Mag- passing over 3200 foods and food azine 20.1, 2004). processing techniques at risk of dis- This past issue of Farming Matters appearing that are a part of the discusses how the continuously nar- world’s cultural heritage. The cata- rowing base for global food securi- logue includes suggestions to save ty limits the options available to these endangered foods. http:// farmers, and threatens agrobiodi- www.fondazioneslowfood.com/ versity. http://www.agricul- en/category/ark-of-taste/ turesnetwork.org/magazines/ global/valuing-crop-diversity Recipe catalogue (World Vegeta- ble Center) The World Vegetable

40 | Farming Matters | June 2016 Farming Matters | June 2016 | 41 Advocating for sustainable pastoralism together

In all countries of the Middle East, pastoralist communities, and Bedouins in particular, are some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in society. A new initiative, funded by the European Union, is helping to strengthen their voices through trainings on policy influencing, networking, documentation and communication for advocacy. Regional Bedouin Governance project team

Bedouins and herders, like this Palestinian family in the Jordan Valley, depend on adequate access to resources, including land and water, to support their traditional livelihoods. Photo: David Levine/Oxfam

42 | Farming Matters | June 2016 SPONSORED CONTENT

cal fragmentation and the protracted Israeli occupation. Because of this, partners in the OPT, the Palestinian Ag- ricultural Cooperatives Union (PACU), the Palestinian Livestock Development Centre (PLDC), and the Union for Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), are focused on the establishment of a future national platform Their A group of Palestinian Bedouins in the Southern approach is two-fold: promoting the role of Palestinian West Bank attending a meeting with the project partner organisations as bearers of mobile pastoralists’ team to discuss their communities’ needs and priori- interests and engaging these organisations in sub-national ties. Photo: Mia Marzotto/Oxfam meetings with other stakeholders. The result will be a network of practitioners, a critical first step towards the creation of a representative platform. astoralist communities have no or The number of people benefiting from the project limited access to critical resources such makes up a significant portion of the total pastoralist as land, water, central markets and population across the three countries. 1500 families in veterinary services to sustain their the OPT, 200 in Jordan and 17,500 in Egypt are being traditional livelihoods. Their livelihoods supported to build and share knowledge, and to make are further at risk from the ever hotter, their voices heard in policy making. Pdrier and less predictable weather due to strong indica- Not only are people at the grassroots level benefiting tions of climate change in the region. from the project, local authorities, NGOs and govern- Although these groups have traditionally been able to ment agencies are also gain from their involvement in cope with scarce natural resources, they now face intensi- the knowledge building and policy influencing pro- fying threats to food security and sustainable growth in cesses. They gain a better understanding of the issues the midst of a particularly weak institutional environment. pastoralists face and the changes needed for sector- Currently, local and national institutions lack adequate wide improvements. policies and legislation that supports the agricultural and Participants are learning to jointly identify common livestock sectors. By increasing the engagement on policy problems and needs, develop collaborative strategies issues of pastoralist communities their voices could be for addressing challenges through policy dialogue and heard in mainstream socio-economic life and their tradi- effectively reach out to other local, national and inter- tional ways of life become more sustainable. national partners. In 2012, Oxfam, the Regional Office for West Asia In an environment of high uncertainty, improved con- (ROWA) of IUCN (International Union for Conserva- nection and collaboration among different groups as well tion of Nature) and ILEIA, joined forces with local as the relevant authorities increases the prospect of tradi- partners in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), tional ways of life being sustained for mobile pastoralists. Jordan and Egypt to promote participation of pastoral- The project team is currently supporting local organisa- ist groups in policy decision processes that affect them. tions (12 in the OPT, two in Jordan and one in Egypt) to implement tangible and innovative initiatives to con- Working together Accessing quality cretely link planning to advocacy, to create more services, land and water, credit and central markets are engaged communities and raise and strengthen their key needs and lack of organisation and advocacy voices to help solve the daily problems they face. knowledge are critical constraints that prevent needs from being met and pastoralists’ rights respected. Sharing lessons learnt More insights Therefore, Oxfam, IUCN ROWA and ILEIA are and lessons learnt on food security governance of supporting these communities to strengthen their mobile pastoralist groups in the OPT, Jordan and communications, organisational and networking Egypt can be expected in the coming months. ILEIA, capacities to encourage dialogue with policy makers Oxfam and the World Initiative for Sustainable and other key government agencies, NGOs and Pastoralism (WISP) of IUCN will continue to share private sector stakeholders. information on this initiative’s progress. This work is made possible through strong collabora- tion with local partners and institutions that are formed This article is part of the visibility and communications work by practitioners and representatives from the pastoralist being carried out under the framework of the Food Security population. In Jordan and Egypt, the project team is Governance of Bedouin Pastoralist Groups in the Mashreq working towards consolidating platforms of Bedouin and project, funded by the European Union. The contents of herders’ communities at the local and national levels. In this publication are the sole responsibility of Oxfam, IUCN the OPT, the creation of national platforms for mobile and ILEIA and can in no way be taken to reflect the views pastoralists is premature due to greater social and politi- of the European Union.

42 | Farming Matters | June 2016 Farming Matters | June 2016 | 43 FAO’s regional meetings on agroecology: a reflection In 2015, a series of unique meetings on agroecology were organised on three continents. Hundreds of civil society representatives, academics and policy makers attended. What have the meetings achieved so far and what next? Janneke Bruil and Diana Quiroz

groecology (...) is an approach that farmer field schools and other farmer-to-farmer will help to address the challenge of methodologies, with special attention for traditional ending hunger and malnutrition in knowledge. It was made clear that a holistic, transdisci- all its forms” said José Graziano da plinary approach based on new relationships between Silva in 2014. The Food and farmers, academia and other knowledge holders will Agriculture Organization of the be crucial. In all regions, producers presented “UnitedA Nations (FAO), which he leads, had just agroecology as a way of life and a path towards food organised the International Symposium on Agroecol- sovereignty for rural and urban citizens. In this ogy for Food Security and Nutrition. Indeed, agroecol- respect, participants emphasised the importance of ogy is gaining momentum for its potential to increase recognising the right of peoples, communities, and food and nutrition security, address climate change, countries to define their own agricultural, labour, enhance biodiversity and build food sovereignty. The fishing, and food and land policies. FAO decided to continue discussing agroecology via regional meetings in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Agroecology and natural re- Latin America and the Caribbean throughout 2015. sources in a changing climate This article reflects on the outcomes around four key Various agroecological practices promote carbon themes of these discussions. storage through increasing organic matter in the soils, and reintroducing trees to the landscape. The great Agroecology as a path towards climate adaptation potential of traditional manage- food and nutrition securityAgro- ment practices with local varieties of traditional food ecology can be a key strategy to improve food and crops, and particularly drought resistant species, was nutrition security, argued Roberto Ugas (National also emphasised. Therefore, it was stated that more Agrarian University La Molina, Peru) at the regional resources need to be devoted to research on the link meeting for Latin America and the Caribbean: between agroecology and climate change, an on “Andean farmers who keep at least 70 % of their farmers’ selection of varieties and species. Massa Koné productive area under agroecological management (CMAT, Malian Convergence against Land Grab- have better food availability, access, use and stability.” bing) said: “agroecology is the only answer to climate In all meetings, the need to enable biodiverse, change and farmers hold answers that must be agroecological farming was voiced. One fundamental valued.” Indeed, agroecology not only helps to cool step is securing producers’ access (especially women, the planet and to adapt to the impact of climate youth, family farmers, and indigenous peoples) to change, participants emphasised, but also brings social land, water, and seeds. A lack of knowledge and benefits, expressed in stronger social security networks awareness about the contribution of agroecology to that are essential to resilience. In keeping with their diverse diets was highlighted as a major barrier. To Nyéléni Declaration on Agroecology (2015), civil tackle this, participants suggested integrating agroecol- society representatives rejected attempts to reduce the ogy into education for youth and adults, as well as concept of agroecology to a set of technologies

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designed to alleviate the harmful impacts of industrial transition to agroecology is impossible. The role of agriculture. new markets for agroecological products was consid- ered a pertinent issue. Sophia Ogutu (farmer from Learning processes in agroecol- Kenya) emphasised: “The focus of policies needs to be ogy There was general consensus that farmers and on crops that are consumed locally, and on giving other food producers should be at the forefront of farmers, especially women, control over their natural knowledge co-creation in agroecology. Farmer-led, resources.” Experience has shown that the most bottom-up, local innovation systems and practices are effective policies have a local character and promote especially important. As a result, the way knowledge is the further development of proven successes such as built and shared needs to be fundamentally different community seed banks, farmer field schools, agroecol- from conventional technology transfer. In the words of ogy schools, demonstration farms and farmer-to-farmer Clara Nicholls (SOCLA, Latin American Scientific exchanges. Therefore calls were made to collect and Society for Agroecology): “Agroecology is not only a better disseminate data from existing experiences with scientific approach, it is a way of life that values science, agroecology to enable evidence-based decision but is also aware that knowledge comes from the making. Throughout all seminars, civil society ancient traditions of people.” In all regions, participants recommended that policies on agroecology must be discussed how to strengthen and increase the recogni- developed within a food sovereignty framework. tion of peasant and indigenous knowledge, farmer-led Finally, the importance of participatory policy research and farmer-to-farmer learning. Participants development processes was highlighted, that respect reflected on the role of scientists in interactions with the needs of both farmers and governments. farmers, and discussed how to transform these into processes that are truly driven by farmers. ReflectionIn many ways, the regional meetings boosted the official recognition of agroecology as a Public policies to promote relevant and time tested approach, and strong recom- agroecology Discussions in all regional mendations were made in all regions (see box). While meetings made it clear that fundamental change in this is welcome progress, the meetings could have policy is needed for agroecology to reach its full addressed the inherent contradictions between potential. The cross-sectoral nature of effective agroecology and the current neoliberal approach to policies was highlighted, as agroecology not only modernising agriculture in a more systematic way. touches on production and consumption, but also on More specifically, they could have explored how to issues such as health, education, and the environ- achieve a shift away from a productivist mindset, with ment. The first policy priority in agroecology would its focus on aggregate supply and increases in yields, be to put control of seeds, biodiversity, land and towards a more multi-functional agricultural model that territories, waters and knowledge in the hands of pursues improved nutrition, resilience, food sovereignty producers. Without access to these resources the and the sustainable use of resources. Several important issues were not on the table during the meetings. For example, how to overcome the strong influence of agribusinesses on policy making processes. In the future, this issue should be dealt with in more detail and with more time. It is also notable that confusion exists around FAO’s support for agroecology on the one hand and their engagement with the Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture on the other. Inadequate discussions about the above issues seemed to imply that ‘business as usual’ can continue, instead of making it clear that a fundamental shift towards agroecology is needed. As social movements stated in the Nyéléni Declaration of the International Forum on Agroecology (2015), “the real solutions to the crises of the climate, malnutrition, etc., will not Photo: FAO come from conforming to the industrial model. We must transform it and build our own local food systems that create new rural-urban links, based on truly agroeco- logical food production by peasants, artisanal fishers, pastoralists, indigenous peoples, urban farmers, etc.”

44 | Farming Matters | June 2016 Farming Matters | June 2016 | 45 Outcomes regional agroecology meetings – by theme Latin America and Caribbean Africa Asia Pacific Food and Raise awareness about the nutritional value of agroecological products nutrition and promote healthy, adequate food production. security Ensure producers’ access to natural resources, notably land, water and biodiversity. Implement the “Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests”. Support and revive traditional Recognize the role of communities, Promote the development of seeds management practices, local as guardians of biodiversity. systems that address availability, varieties and neglected and Create a program of exchange for access and ownership issues. underutilised as well as drought- agroecology and seeds. Natural resistant crops. resources Identify species that are adapted Set resources aside for the in a to climate change; and invest development of agroecology, changing more in applied agroecological Devote more means to research on as part of climate policies that climate research. Develop agroecology agroecology and climate change. guarantee food sovereignty for the independently of Climate Smart people. Agriculture. Create conditions which restrict Formulate responsive national the practice of monoculture, the plans that will strengthen land use use of agro chemicals, and the systems that promote and sustain concentration of land. agroecology. Strengthen existing local Respect and value traditional knowledge, farmer-led research as Recognize, support and document knowledge, promoting a knowledge well as farmers research networks producers’ knowledge. Create a new dialogue in participatory research with a focus on the co-creation research and extension paradigm. programs. of knowledge and participative research. Learning Launch pilot projects at territorial Create platforms for the exchange processes Foster territorial dynamics of social level such as the creation of of agroecological experiences and innovation and technology. Create agroecological territories. innovations.Build a regional network a regional network in Latin America Create platforms to exchange of agroecology researchers, CSOs for the exchange of best practices agroecological experiences and and small-scale food producers. innovations Integrate agroecology in the curricula of both formal and nonformal primary and higher education institutions, and in vocational training centers for producers. Promote public policies which boost Planning, design and formulation agroecology and food sovereignty; of policy for agroecology should be defined, implemented and increasingly carried out inclusively monitored with active participation in a collaboration between policy Policies of social movements and civil makers, scientists, educators, UN, and society groups development partners, CSOs. markets Develop and implement public Create dedicated certificates and procurement policies that favour degrees on Agroecology to enhance agroecological and local food the skills of farmers to better production. understand and use markets.

Source: ILEIA, based on final recommendations of FAO’s regional meetings on agroecology (2016)

In the 2nd half of 2016, FAO will organise two more firmly at the centre of policy, practice and research. regional meetings on agroecology, one in China and Then, agroecology can play a major role in creating one in Hungary. FAO can potentially play an impor- fair and sustainable future food systems, food sover- tant role in connecting various actors around agroecol- eignty and healthy societies. ogy and in catalysing a shift towards an enabling policy environment for agroecology worldwide. While Janneke Bruil ([email protected]) is Coordinator Learning we appreciate the start of the conversation on how to and Advocacy at ILEIA and Diana Quiroz (d.quiroz@ileia. strengthen agroecology in the regions, and the major- org) is Research, Editing and Advocacy Officer at ILEIA. ity of the recommendations are worthy of implemen- tation, bolder steps are now needed. We must empha- A detailed report by FAO and ILEIA that synthesises the sise the need to transform dominant approaches to outcomes of the regional meetings will be published in the food and agriculture, and put farmer-led agroecology course of 2016 and made available at www.ileia.org.

46 | Farming Matters | June 2016 CALL FOR ARTICLES

Strengthening pastoralist societies through improved governance

Pastoralist communities provide meat, hide, dairy, and Produced through a collaboration between ILEIA, manure fuel, supporting about 200 million households Oxfam Italia and IUCN (International Union for in places of the globe where rain-fed agriculture is Conservation of Nature), this issue of Farming not possible. For millenia, pastoralists have managed Matters will explore different modes of action that are rangelands in the planet’s harshest environments: from conducive to improved participation and representation the highlands of Asia and South America to the drylands of pastoralist communities in policy dialogues globally, of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. However, in spite of and particularly in the Middle East and North their importance as stewards of nature, ancient cultures Africa. This issue of Farming Matters is part of these and livestock-based production, pastoralists are often organisations’ joint work to place governance and rights marginalised in policy and development practice. at the centre of pastoralist development by empowering As they rely on livestock mobility and communal communities to make their voices heard at policy land for their livelihoods, pastoralists become and decision-making levels. This is being carried out increasingly affected by mounting conflict under the framework of the Food Security Governance and violence, which block their access to and of Bedouin Pastoralist Groups in the Mashreq project, use of natural resources. Moreover, increased funded by the European Union. commoditisation, the loss of grazing land due to We are particularly interested in hearing of climate change, and the expansion of farming into the grassroots level practices and experiences where best grazing areas, further jeopardise pastoral societies. pastoralist communities have strengthened their To add insult to injury, social and political support ties and improved their organisation, and of their for pastoralism is often weak in terms of capacity, participation in designing policies that respect their policy and legislation, and at best inappropriate to the socio-economic rights. The role of women and youth realities of pastoralist communities. It is not possible in these processes is of special interest. to generalise the needs of pastoralists, which differ The purpose of this issue of Farming Matters will not just from community to community, but even be to inform pastoralist communities, practitioners, from household to household. However, in quite researchers, civil society, policy makers and others general terms we can safely say that the failure of about the practices and policies best fitted to past development efforts has stemmed from a poor strengthen pastoralist societies. understanding of pastoralism as a multiple land use system that is deeply rooted in a culture that relies Articles for the December issue of Farming directly on nature. As a result, pastoralists have been Matters should be submitted before Septem- excluded from local and national planning processes. ber 1 at www.farmingmatters.org

COLOPHON

Farming Matters Address Online subscriptions are free. Layout The editors have taken Experiences in family P.O. Box 90, 6700 AB, Subscribe at Yvonne Dijkshoorn - every care to ensure that the farming and agroecology Wageningen, the Netherlands www.farmingmatters.org Twin Media bv, contents of this magazine Culemborg, are as accurate as possible. Farming Matters is Visitors’ address The AgriCultures Network the Netherlands The authors have ultimate published quarterly by Lawickse Allee 11, 6701 AN ILEIA is a member of the responsibility, however, for the ILEIA Wageningen, the Netherlands AgriCultures Network; five Printing content of individual articles. Tel: +31 (0)317 760 010 organisations that provide Koninklijke BDU Grafisch www.farmingmatters.org E-mail: [email protected] information on agroecology Bedrijf B.V., Barneveld, Volume 32.2 www.ileia.org and family farming worldwide, the Netherlands. ISSN: 2210-6499 and that publish: LEISA revista Editorial team de agroecología (Latin America Funding ILEIA uses the Attribution- This issue has been compiled in Spanish), LEISA India (in ILEIA is grateful for the Noncommercial-Share by Madeleine Florin, Diana English, Hindi, Kannada, support of Sida, the Swedish Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Quiroz, Janneke Bruil, Jesse Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, International Development Commons Licence. Roberts, Romée Marchand, Tamil, Telugu), AGRIDAPE Cooperation Agency. For details please see Edith van Walsum. (West Africa, in French), www.creativecommons.org. Agriculturas, Experiências Cover photo Subscriptions em Agroecologia (Brazil , in Shambhavi Priyam Subscription rate for one year Portuguese). (see article on page 10) (four issues): organisations € 45 individuals € 20. Farming Matters | April 2013 | 43 This diverts resources 15 YEARS OF and the policy making COLLABORATION trajectory away from BETWEEN FARMERS, THE real solutions which M.S. SWAMINATHAN can be found in the FOUNDATION diversity of food and AND BIOVERSITY farming. Mariam Mayet, page 17 INTERNATIONAL HAS RESULTED IN A SO CALLED ‘HOLISTIC VALUE CHAIN APPROACH’

Ashis Mondal and others, page 10

BY DIRECTLY SUPPORTING SMALL SCALE PRODUCERS WHO PRESERVE OUR BIODIVERSITY WE EXERCISE OUR RIGHT TO DEFINE OUR OWN FAIR AND DIVERSE FOOD SYSTEM

Jens Herbold, page 24

“If we – the small farmers – do not continue to grow diverse, unique crops that are open pollinated and adaptable to the climate, we lose control of our food source”

Shelley Spruit, page 14

Farming Matters is published by ILEIA, the centre for learning on sustainable agriculture. ILEIA is a member of the AgriCultures Network, a global network of organisations that shares knowledge on agroecology and family farming. www.farmingmatters.org